MOSCOW, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Moscow will not expel the British diplomats who were accused of spying and the issue will not hurt Russia's ties with Britain.

    Last week, the Russian Federal Security Service said it had uncovered four British diplomats who were engaged in spying activities in Moscow that included use of a communication device hidden in a fake rock and funding of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia.

    "As far as the extradition issue is concerned, they may stay here. It is good to feel they are under our control," Putin said at his annual press conference in the Kremlin.

    "The problem we have encountered will not lower the level of our cooperation with the United Kingdom," he said.

    Meanwhile, Putin used the spy row to defend a new Russian law on NGOs, saying NGOs in the country should not be run by "puppeteers" from outside Russia.

    NGOs are needed as a means to check on bodies of power and the state will support them but require their financing to be transparent.

    Earlier this month, Putin signed into law a bill on NGOs, which required all domestic NGOs in Russia that receive overseas funds to declare their origins and purpose and regulated the registration procedure for the establishment of branch offices in Russia by foreign NGOs and social groups. Enditem