MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - The Soros Foundation has suspended its work in Russia.
"We have put a notice in front of the foundation's building, which says that the Soros Foundation has suspended the acceptance of visitors due to the actions of the firm Nobel Technologies and its director," Yekaterina Geniyeva, chairman of the Open Society Institute, told Interfax on Wednesday.
On July 30, five armed individuals headed by Kantemir Karamzin, director of Nobel Technologies, entered the foundation's territory (Ozerkovskaya Ul, 8). The men were accompanied by armed policemen.
The gates have now been closed and the only way to get into the building is by taking the fire ladder, Geniyeva said.
The foundation has a tremendous number of visitors from different regions of Russia daily and these people now cannot get into the building, she said.
Kazamzin believes his actions were legitimate and said the security guards will not leave the building.
The conflict with the firm Nobel Technologies, which in this case is the lessor, arose over the lease contract signed in 1999. Under that contract, the Soros Foundation received the right to lease the building for a period of ten years, and the cost of the lease and maintenance work reached about $3.5 million.
However, in December 2001, the Foundation's lawyers noticed that an article had been added to the contract, under which the contract would lose force if the Soros Foundation did not purchase the building by August 1, 2002.
On December 30, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against Nobel Technologies, charging it with forging documents.
In the meantime, the Moscow Arbitration Court is now trying the lawsuit filed by Nobel Technologies, which contends that the Soros Foundation was to vacate the building last summer.