Russia warns UK over expulsions
Mr Litvinenko died in a London hospital in November 2006
Lugovoi interview
Russia＇s deputy foreign minister has said Britain＇s expulsion of four of its diplomats from London could jeopardise co-operation on counter-terrorism.
Alexander Grushko said the move - a response to the Alexander Litvinenko murder row - would complicate "vitally important" security issues.
He added: "We are being punished for observing our own constitution."
A full response is expected later from Moscow, which has warned Britain to expect "serious consequences".
The expulsion of four diplomats follows Moscow＇s refusal to hand over former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi who is accused of murdering Mr Litvinenko in London last year. Mr Lugovoi denies involvement.
It is obvious that the policy which is being pursued by Britain is going to complicate the terrorist, the security issues
Alexander Grushko
Mr Grushko said if Russia expelled four diplomats for every extradition request Britain had turned down recently, it would mean 80 UK diplomats being sent home.
He said London had said it would not maintain contacts with Russia＇s Federal Security Service, but had also said it was prepared to co-operate on counter-terrorism.
＇No apologies＇
"These are mutually exclusive statements taking into account the central role the federal security service takes in fighting terrorism both internationally and domestically," said Mr Grushko.
"It is obvious that the policy which is being pursued by Britain is going to complicate the terrorist, the security issues, which are vitally relevant and important for Britain and Russia and the wider world."
We don＇t want to be provoked into a ping-pong game
Dmitri Peskov
Spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin
Analysis: Will the spat widen?
Russian media annoyed
Russia-UK disputes
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday Britain would make "no apologies" for expelling the four Russians.
He said he wanted a "good relationship" with Russia but said that because "there is no forthcoming co-operation, then action has to be taken".
The Foreign Office has not named the four Russian diplomats, but the BBC understands they are intelligence officers.
＇Absolutely clear＇
The BBC＇s James Rodgers in Moscow said the expulsions would not go unanswered and that the two countries were "facing off" in way not seen since the end of the Cold War.
Mr Litvinenko, another former KGB agent, died of exposure to radioactive polonium-210 in London in November 2006.
The radioactive isotope used to poison him was found in several places that Mr Lugovoi had visited in London.
KEY EVENTS IN CASE
1 November 2006: Alexander Litvinenko meets Andrei Lugovoi and another Russian at a London hotel
23 November 2006: Litvinenko dies in a London hospital
24 November 2006: A Litvinenko statement accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death. Experts say Litvinenko was poisoned
6 December 2006: UK police say they are treating the death as murder
22 May 2007: Lugovoi should be charged with Litvinenko＇s murder, British prosecutors say
28 May 2007: UK makes formal request for Lugovoi＇s extradition from Russia
Full timeline of events
Send us your reaction
But Mr Lugovoi told Russian television that the outcome of the inquiry had been predetermined.
He said: "The British authorities have in effect emphasised yet again that the Litvinenko case actually has a political subtext.
"In all the eight months that this row has been developing in earnest, I have not received a single official invitation from the official British authorities, and all those statements that the investigation was carried out competently are lies."
Russian President Vladimir Putin＇s spokesman Dmitri Peskov said: "We don＇t want to be provoked into a ping-pong game, although of course the Russian side will provide a necessary response."
Mr Litvinenko＇s widow Marina said she was "very grateful" for the British government＇s actions and "proud to be a UK citizen".
Under the European Convention on Extradition 1957, the Russians have the right to refuse the extradition of a citizen.
The UK has the right to request Mr Lugovoi be tried in Russia, but the UK＇s director of public prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, has already turned down the offer.
The Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind was foreign secretary the last time Russian diplomats were expelled.
He told BBC Radio 4＇s Today programme: "It＇s important that the Russians, if they do choose to behave in this way... realise that there is a price and that price is the embarrassment, the inconvenience the difficulties caused by the expulsion of their diplomats," he said.
"Of course it will not produce the result we would ideally like, but it＇s important that the very, very deeply unsatisfactory nature of this event is well demonstrated."
The UK＇s director of public prosecutions has recommended Mr Lugovoi be tried for murder by "deliberate poisoning".
|
|
