Poisoned ex-spy warns Putin from beyond grave

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) Ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of his murder from beyond the grave today, in a statement read out the morning after he died of an unknown poison in a London hospital.

''You may succeed in silencing one man. But a howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done,'' Litvinenko said in a statement read out by friends.

''You may succeed in silencing me, but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics claim,'' his statement said.

The Kremlin had shrugged off the accusations as nonsense and the Russian spy service had denied killing the ex-agent.

''The death of a person is always a tragedy. At this time it is a matter for investigation into what happened by the law enforcement agencies in Britain,'' deputy Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

But the allegation Putin sent secret agents to murder a man in Britain for the first time since the Cold War cast a shadow over the Russian leader's appearance at an EU summit.

A member of the Russian delegation at the summit in Helsinki said before Litvinenko died: ''The man was poisoned. But the accusations towards the Kremlin are so unbelievable, they are too silly to be commented on by the president or anyone from the Russian side.'' European leaders have so far held their fire. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country holds the EU presidency, expressed sympathy to Litvinenko's family but declined to say whether he would bring up the death with Putin.

''We don't actually know very much about it, and we need this. And the UK authorities will of course investigate what has happened,'' he said before welcoming Putin to the summit.

CONTACT COMES FORWARD Another former Russian spy came forward in Moscow to acknowledge that he had met Litvinenko at a London hotel with two other Russians the day he suddenly fell ill. The man, Andrei Lugovoy, told a Russian newspaper they had discussed ''business''.

He met Britain's deputy ambassador in Moscow yesterday and said he would answer any questions from police about the affair. The embassy gave no details about the conversation.

Litvinenko died yesterday after losing his hair and suffering organ failure. He had received British citizenship last month and was one of a group of Putin opponents who have clustered in London, including billionaire Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatists, often drawing Moscow's anger and scorn.

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