U.S. research group says Russia's move to label it undesirable will not affect operations

The U.S. research and analysis institute the Jamestown Foundation said on Thursday that Russia's move to label it "undesirable" will not impact its operations and further report about the country's North Caucasus region. Russia on Wednesday labeled the Washington-based group an "undesirable organization," potentially paving the way for it to be banned in the country.

The General Prosecutor's Office said it concluded that publications by the Jamestown Foundation were aimed at fanning separatism in some Russian regions, particularly in the North Caucasus, and constituted a security threat. The Jamestown Foundation's president, Glen Howard, said in a statement that the group has no office or staff who work in Russia.

"Therefore, the issue of being declared 'undesirable' is moot, to begin with, and will have no impact on our operations or further reporting about the region," Howard said. Russia's move may have a reverse effect and "further boost our visibility and global readership," the statement said.

On its website http://www.jamestown.org, the Jamestown Foundation describes itself as "an independent, non-partisan research institution dedicated to providing timely information concerning critical political and strategic developments in China, Russia, Eurasia and the world of terrorism." It was founded in 1984. Russia has banned more than a dozen foreign groups under its legislation against undesirable organizations, adopted in 2015. Under the law, groups are typically first labeled undesirable and then formally banned by the Justice Ministry.

Western capitals have accused Russia's authorities of using the legislation as well a separate law on "foreign agents" to isolate and put pressure on members of Russia's civil society. Russia denies that and says the laws are needed to protect its national security from outside meddling.