UK expels 4 Russian diplomats

Britain said on Monday it will expel four Russian diplomats to protest Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect over the murder of ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, in a major escalation of the row.The expulsions, announced by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, were the first in over a decade amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West fueled by Litvinenko's radioactive poisoning in London last November.In fast-moving developments Russian officials said Moscow would respond to the British announcement later on Monday.The last time Britain expelled Russian diplomats was in 1996, and observers have recently warned the rift could escalate into a full-blown Cold War-style crisis.“This is a situation the government has not sought,” Miliband told lawmakers, underlining that Russia's refusal to extradite former KGB spy Andrei Lugovoi was “extremely disappointing.” Britain will also consider a range of other measures including possible consequences for visa arrangements, he said, while insisting that “This is not an anti-Russian statement.”The British announcement came after Russia confirmed to prosecutors here last week its refusal to hand over Lugovoi over the killing of Litvinenko in London.Authorities in Moscow have proposed putting Lugovoi on trial in Russia, but British prosecutors believe that would not “meet standards of impartiality and fairness,” according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office.British prosecutors allege that Lugovoi used a rare radioactive isotope to poison Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence agent turned Kremlin critic, during a meeting in London in November.Prosecutors announced their decision to seek formally Lugovoi's extradition on May 22, but Russia formally refused to hand him over on July 9, according to prosecutors in London.Lugovoi, in an interview broadcast earlier Monday, insisted he is innocent and called the charges against him “brazen lies.” He also renewed a claim that British secret service tried to recruit him.“I was threatened and there were attempts to force me to cooperate,” he told Sky News, adding that Litvinenko was “beyond doubt” a British spy.British prosecutors say the evidence against him involves a trail of polonium 210 on planes on which Lugovoi travelled en route to London, where Litvinenko fell ill after sharing a pot of tea with the Russian in a hotel.“My family and I were victims of a polonium attack in London. As for the plane from Moscow to London, these are brazen lies ... It's a convenient version chosen by the British justice for an internal audience,” Lugovoi said.The expulsions came as Russia and the United States are locked in a heated dispute over missile defence, with Moscow accusing Washington of provoking a “new arms race” with its plans to deploy a missile shield in central Europe.At the weekend the Kremlin announced it had frozen Russia's participation in a key post Cold War pact with Nato, the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, which limits troops and arms on the continent.In Russia, the pro-government daily Izvestia said last week that Britain’s harsh rhetoric was an attempt by the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown to appear strong.