BELGOROD, April 13. /TASS/. McDonald's will for the first time close its restaurant in Russia after a failure to agree on rent payment in the Belgorod Region, southern Russia, the company's press service said on Monday.

"We haven't closed restaurants in Russia before," the company said adding that the decision was made after long negotiations with the landowner in Stroitel, a town with a population of some 25,000.

McDonald's said the restaurant will be closed by the end of May and the staff was offered jobs at McDonald's four outlets in the cities of Belgorod and Stary Oskol.

In all, McDonald's operates 493 restautrants across Russia. The first restaurant opened in downtown Moscow in January 1990.