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.

Russia launches investigation into Litvinenko affair

Russia said today it had launched its own investigation after the man wanted by Britain in connection with the murder of former spy Alexander Litvinenko made allegations about MI6 involvement in the affair.The federal security service in Moscow said it had started an espionage inquiry into claims made by Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian businessman sought for extradition by Britain in connection with Litvinenko's death last November.
The one-sentence statement by the intelligence agency said only that the investigation would look into statements made by Mr Lugovoi.
Last month, Mr Lugovoi claimed that Litvinenko and his patron, UK-based Russian tycoon and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky, had contacts with the British security service, and that Mr Berezovsky had given British intelligence sensitive information about Russia.The Russian investigation threatens to complicate an already fraught issue that is straining Anglo-Russian relations, also under pressure over the planned US missile defence shield, which the UK supports.
Britain is seeking Mr Lugovoi's extradition as the chief suspect in the poisoning of Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210.
The businessman has denied any involvement and Russia has refused to agree to the extradition.
Separately, Russia has been seeking Mr Berezovsky's extradition for alleged economic crimes. The billionaire was granted political asylum in Britain in 2003 after a political falling out with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
The run-up to last week's G8 summit in Germany was dominated by hawkish statements from Mr Putin, who said Russia would point its missiles at European cities in response to plans to establish bases for the missile shield in Eastern Europe. This was met with a frosty reaction from the US and UK.
Before leaving for the summit, Tony Blair stressed that he wanted continued good relations with Russia but warned that these were conditional on "certain shared principles and shared values".
Litvinenko left Russia after claiming Russian intelligence agents, rather than Chechen rebels, organised a deadly series of apartment block bombings in 1999. Before he died in a London hospital, he accused Mr Putin's regime of being behind his poisoning, something Moscow vehemently denies.
Mr Lugovoi and another businessman, Dmitry Kovtun, met Litvinenko on November 1, the day he said he fell ill. Radiation traces were found at several locations connected with the men, including the London hotel bar where they met Litvinenko.
Both men were questioned in the presence of British investigators in Moscow in December, and Mr Lugovoi's extradition was requested last month. Mr Putin called the demand "stupidity".
Russian prosecutors have said Mr Lugovoi could be tried in Russia if Britain provides enough evidence to warrant a charge, but there is little sign of this happening yet.