Moscow, 20 August: The situation regarding the stopping of the (radio) broadcasts by the BBC Russian Service on the FM frequency in Moscow is not in any way connected to the conflict between Russia and Britain, which emerged in connection with the "Litvinenko case", the head of Rossvyazokhrankultury (the Federal Service for Supervision in Mass Communications, Communications and Preservation of Cultural Heritage), Boris Boyarskov, has said.

"This perfectly ordinary issue is in no way connected to the tension in relations between Russia and Britain. Especially as the Russian Service of the BBC is not a British but a Russian mass media outlet," Boyarskov told Interfax on Monday (20 August).

This is how he commented on the publications in the British mass media, which suggested a link between the ending of the broadcasting of the BBC programmes on the FM frequency in Moscow and the conflict between Russia and Britain over the "Litvinenko case". (Passage omitted: Boyarskov explained that the Russian partner Bolshoye Radio has been in breach of its own programming plan - reported earlier)

He stressed that there had been quite a few cases similar to the situation with the BBC in the practice of Rossvyazokhrankultury and this one did not stand out in any way.

"There are dozens of cases like this and the fact that attention is being drawn to this particular case suggests that someone wants to give political subtext to this situation," the head of Rossvyazokhrankultury said.

According to him, in order for the broadcasts of BBC programmes to be resumed on the frequency of Bolshoye Radio, the radio station would have to submit to the Rossvyazokhrankultury a request for changing its programming concept and provide the names of the mass media outlets that will broadcast on its frequency.

"So far we have not received a request of this kind," Boyarskov noted.

In addition to this, he announced that the management of the BBC Russian Service has asked Rossvyazokhrankultury to hold a joint business meeting.

"The agenda of the meeting, however, has not been set, but we will hold it," Boyarskov said.