Russia rules out swap deal over Litvinenko suspect

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) Russia dismissed today speculation it could hand over the man suspected of murdering Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in exchange for Britain extraditing a tycoon wanted in Moscow.

Russia and Britain are locked in a diplomatic tussle over Moscow's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, the man British prosecutors want to put on trial for poisoning Litvinenko with a radioactive isotope last year.

Some pro-Kremlin Russian politicians had raised the possibility of swapping Lugovoy for Boris Berezovsky, a multi-millionaire now living in London who is sought by Moscow on corruption charges.

''The Russian Prosecutor General's office is not even considering this question since such actions are impossible under Russian law,'' Itar-Tass news agency quoted the prosecutor's office as saying in a statement.

Berezovsky was a pall bearer at Litvinenko's funeral last year and has said he is working to bring about a non-violent change of government in Russia.

He has been granted refugee status in Britain and British courts have rejected an application from Russia for his extradition.

In a statement read out by friends after he died in a London hospital, Litvinenko said Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning. The Kremlin has described the allegation as nonsense.

REUTERS GL HS1759