UK rejects Russian offer to try Litvinenko suspect

Russia said on Friday it would consider trying the chief suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in its own courts but Britain rejected the offer, saying the trial should take place on British soil.

Russia has refused to hand over to Britain Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB officer who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill, setting the former Cold War foes, now tied by billions of dollars of trade, on a diplomatic collision course.

In an apparent gesture of conciliation, Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said he had told British Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith that Lugovoy would be tried in Russia if London supplied enough evidence.

"If the British side present us with evidence of Lugovoy's guilt and we consider it sufficient then he can be prosecuted," Chaika told Channel One television in Munich after a meeting of Group of Eight justice and interior ministers.

But Goldsmith said in a statement that he had told Chaika in Munich that he expected Russia to extradite Lugovoy.

"This murder was committed on UK soil, the evidence is in the UK, a UK citizen was killed and other people put at risk and it is therefore right a suspect should face justice in a UK court," the statement said.

"I have impressed on Mr Chaika that we are seeking and expect constructive and rapid cooperation from the Russian authorities in bringing this suspect before a British court."

Lugovoy, who has always protested his innocence, said on Friday when Reuters contacted him by telephone: "I cannot say anything right now."

Chaika said Lugovoy could not be extradited because it would contravene the Russian constitution.

Polonium trail

Litvinenko died in a London hospital on November 23 after ingesting a fatal dose of polonium 210, a highly toxic radioactive isotope.

A former Russian security service officer who obtained British citizenship, Litvinenko said in a message read by his associates after his death that the Kremlin was behind his poisoning.

The Kremlin has said those claims are nonsense and senior officials say the Litvinenko affair has been used by President Vladimir Putin's enemies to damage Russia's image.

Russian prosecutors opened their own investigation into Litvinenko's death and what they said was the attempted murder of Dmitry Kovtun, who along with Lugovoy met Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square on Nov 1.

Litvinenko complained of feeling ill later that day and was admitted to hospital shortly afterwards.

Yuri Skuratov, a former Russian prosecutor general, said in a newspaper interview this week that it was highly unlikely Lugovoy would ever be put on trial in Russia.

Russian relations with Britain have been strained by Kremlin anger at Boris Berezovsky, once one of Russia's most powerful businessmen, who fled Moscow after falling out with Putin. He now scolds the Kremlin from his base in London.

Russia has repeatedly asked Britain to hand over Berezovsky. Lugovoy worked as head of security for Berezovsky in the 1990s after leaving the FSB, the KGB's successor.

When Chaika was asked if he had discussed Berezovsky with Goldsmith, he said: "What has Berezovsky got to do with all this? These are two completely different things."

(Published by Reuters, May 25, 2007)