MOSCOW, October 9 - RAPSI. UNICEF will complete its programs in Russia before December 31, the Foreign Ministry's Press and Information Department told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

"We are aware of the ministry's statement, but we are continuing to discuss the possibility of developing new partnership options after our programs finish and our regional office was closed in 2011," John Bubb, the head of the UNICEF partnership office's press service in Moscow, said.

He added that UNICEF continued to run a partnership office in Moscow that held negotiations with the Foreign Ministry after it wound up its operations in Russia in 2011.

The Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that UNICEF must complete its projects in Russia, as Moscow has become a full-fledged project partner and donor.

The UNICEF Moscow office opened in 1997.

Earlier, USAID, a major foreign sponsor of Russian non-profit organizations, also finished its operations in Russia. According to the Foreign Ministry, officials told USAID to cease its activities as of October 1 as the agency had "tried to influence political processes through financial grants."