Ukraine leader says Russia blocking poison probe

By Staff
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LONDON, Sep 11 (Reuters) Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, in an interview published today, said officials in Russia were hindering a probe to determine who poisoned him with dioxin during the 2004 presidential election campaign.

The president told The Times Russian laboratories were refusing to provide dioxin samples even though he had discussed the matter with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. He also said Russia was refusing to extradite three suspects.

''Three laboratories in the world were producing dioxin of this formula. It is very easy to determine the origin of the substance; there is nothing magical about it,'' he told the Times, one of several European dailies that interviewed him.

''Two laboratories provided samples but not the Russian side.

This, of course, limits the possibilities of the investigation process.'' Yushchenko, his face still pock-marked, became seriously ill during the campaign and was rushed to a Vienna clinic, which concluded he had ingested a large quantity of dioxin.

He recovered and defeated Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich after weeks of ''Orange Revolution'' protests forced a re-run of the rigged poll. But no one has been charged over the poisoning.

Yushchenko stopped short of accusing Russian officials of involvement, but said: ''This was not a private act.

''If I respond to that question, then the investigation will have nothing to do. We need to question the people who had direct involvement in the case.'' The investigation, Yushchenko said, was nearly complete and investigators needed to talk to three suspects now in Russia.

''Ukraine has filed a request with the Russian prosecutor-general's office about returning these people to Ukraine for investigation,'' he told the daily.

''I personally talked to the Russian president about it.

Unforunately, there is no response to this issue whatsoever from the Russian side.'' Yushchenko said he first felt ill after having dinner with senior officials from Ukraine's SBU security service in September 2004. Officials from that time deny any involvement.

REUTERS SBC BST1454

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