Russians may fly to Britain to probe ex-spy's death

By Staff
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MOSCOW, Dec 11 (Reuters) Russian detectives could fly to London by the end of the week to conduct their own investigation into the murder of ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, the Interfax news agency reported today.

Interfax said Russian investigators would go to Britain after a team of British detectives in Moscow finish speaking to witnesses about Litvinenko, who was murdered in London last month with a fatal dose of radiation.

Moscow has strongly denied involvement but Litvinenko's slow, agonising death has sparked police investigations in London, Moscow and Hamburg, scorched Russia's reputation and revived memories of Cold War revenge.

''The exact date of their departure depends on when the work in Moscow on investigating the death of Litvinenko is finished,'' an unidentified source told Interfax.

A spokeswoman for Russia's Prosecutor-General confirmed that a Russian team would go to Britain if needed but she could not say when and for what exact purpose.

The Scotland Yard team last week questioned Dmitry Kovtun, one of the Russians whom Litvinenko met at a London hotel on Nov. 1, the day he fell ill. Kovtun has developed symptoms of radiation poisoning, according to Russian prosecutors, but there are conflicting reports about his exact state of health.

Kovtun is the focus of a separate probe by German investigators, who said at the weekend they had found traces of polonium at properties he used in Hamburg.

They now want to interrogate another Russian who was at the same meeting, former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy.

EMBASSY CAR AT HOSPITAL A Reuters cameraman said a British embassy car normally used by the detectives was waiting today outside a Moscow hospital where Lugovoy is thought to be undergoing tests. A man got out of the car and was taken through into the hospital.

Lugovoy's aide told Reuters he could not comment on the reports and a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General's office would not say whether Lugovoy would be questioned today.

Litvinenko, a former secret service agent, died on November. 23 from radiation poisoning caused by ingesting Polonium 210, a radioactive isotope. He was a naturalised British citizen.

A fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, Litvinenko made a deathbed statement accusing Putin of ordering his killing. The Kremlin has denied involvement as have Russia's secret services.

Even Putin's opponents in Moscow consider it unlikely he ordered the killing, because of the negative impact it has had on Russia's image abroad and because Litvinenko held only a minor post in the secret service fighting economic crime.

A British Embassy spokesman in Moscow said no requests had been received from Russia for help. ''Any requests that we did receive would be considered by the Home Office (Interior Ministry) in the normal way in consultation with the police''.

If the Russian detectives go to London, they may want to question Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, both harsh critics of Putin. Traces of polonium were found at Berezovsky's London offices, which had been visited by Litvinenko before he was admitted to hospital.

Relatives and contacts of Litvinenko in London would agree to meet Russian detectives if their safety was guaranteed, family friend Alexander Goldfarb said yesterday.

Russia's Prosecutor-General last week launched a murder enquiry into Litvinenko's death and also opened a criminal case into what it said was the attempted murder of Kovtun.

Reutdrs BDP RN1830

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