Lugovoi's extradition to Britain out of question

Moscow, May 23 (UNI) Moscow would not extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian businessman and colleague of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, to Britain, Russian Foreign Ministry today said.

The director of the British Crown Prosecution Service Ken Macdonald declared yesterday in London that the evidence received by the British police was ''sufficient to charge'' Lugovoi with the murder of Litvinenko, who died of polonium-210 poisoning, in a London hospital, and vowed to ''take immediate steps to seek his early extradition'' from Moscow to bring him swiftly to trial in London.

"As for the issue, it is known that extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states is out of line with the Russian Constitution. There are similar provisions in other states' legislations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

''As of today, we have received from British authorities only the most general information on the case. We are expecting from them more detailed information,'' it added.

Russian Prosecutor General's Office also ruled out yesterday the possibility of extradition to Britain, saying Lugovoi could only be brought to account in Russia.

The Ministry, in its statement, also stressed that Russia had repeatedly voiced its readiness to cooperate with its British counterpart in a thorough and unbiased investigation of the case.

Litvinenko, who received British citizenship few weeks before his radioactive poisoning, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating his murder, in his dying statement, a charge denied by Mr Putin.

Lugovoi denied he was involved in Litivinenko's murder, saying the accusations by the British Crown Prosecution Service were politically motivated.

"I believe the decision is a political one. I did not kill Litvinenko, have no connections with his death, and I have grounds in expressing my distrust of evidence collected by British law enforcers," RIA Novosti news agency quoted him yesterday.

He further said that he planned to make several public announcements in the near future "which will be a sensation for public opinion and fundamentally change assessments of certain events, which have been surrounding some persons of Russian origin in Britain in recent years." Lugovoi and another former security officer Dmitry Kovtun, met Litvinenko in a London hotel shortly before he was hospitalised with symptoms of poisoning, and had themselves undergone radiation checks.

Both have tested positive for the presence of deadly radioactive element polonium-210 in their blood.

Kovtun also has repeatedly denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death, insisting that he was himself a victim.

More than 700 people in Britain, Russia and Germany have been tested for polonium-210 after British forensic scientists confirmed the substance had been the cause of Litvinenko's death.

The case has already worsened the Russia-Britain relations.

UNI