MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - The problem of the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper's lease contract will be resolved with fairness, Moscow mayor's press secretary Sergei Tsoi told Interfax in comments on media reports on the issue on Thursday.

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov "was surprised and outraged" by the situation, "he demanded all documents and all information on the issue immediately," Tsoi said.

"Neither the mayor nor the Moscow city government have ever persecuted media outlets and particular individuals for dissent, not to mention a publication with such a title," Tsoi said referring to the title Nezavisimaya Gazeta, which is Russian for Independent Newspaper.

"Sure, the situation will be examined most carefully, primarily from the viewpoint of the city's interests, and the issue will be resolved with fairness," Tsoi said.

"In any case, the editorial office will not be left homeless," he said. A number of media outlets had reported earlier that Nezavisimaya Gazeta had received notification from the Moscow city government on severing its lease contract following the publication of a number of articles about Luzhkov's visit to the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol and his possible dismissal.

The Moscow city property department told Interfax that Nezavisimaya Gazeta had a lease contract valid until 2011 but added that the contract stipulated that it could be severed if the building was subject to reconstruction. The department said the building was recently allotted for an investment project, and the contract does not oblige the property department to allot another facility in case the lease contract is severed. The department said, however, that it would not insist that the editorial office leave the building immediately.

The Nezavisimaya Gazeta editorial office occupies premises in the center of Moscow.