Posted on 08/03/2007 2:02:46 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia could prosecute businessman and former Soviet KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi in the Litvinenko affair if Britain provides "proof" of his guilt, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.
If the British "have proof that has 100 percent convinced them of Lugovoi's guilt, we are ready to receive it and study it," Sergei Lavrov said, cited by Interfax news agency from Beijing.
At the same time, he said Russia did not intend to exchange Lugovoi for Russian businessman and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky, who currently lives in London and is wanted in Russia on various charges of fraud.
"For what reason? We have sent to London all the documents on Mr. Berezovsky that correspond judicially to all the requirements necessary for extradition," Lavrov said.
"As for Lugovoi, we have not seen the same kinds of documents."
British prosecutors want to charge Lugovoi with the radiation poisoning murder of outspoken Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.
The former Russian agent turned dissident, a British citizen, met Lugovoi for tea in a central London hotel on November 1 last year. He died in agony in hospital on November 23.
London announced on July 16 that it would expel four Russian diplomats in retaliation for Moscow's refusal to extradite private security firm boss Lugovoi -- who denies any wrongdoing.
Moscow has hit back by announcing four British diplomats will be expelled from Moscow, in a tit-for-tat move London has labelled "completely unjustified."
Of course they *could* prosecute.But anyone who thinks that Vlad Putin would allow such a prosecution to take place has got many,many screws loose.
I like that. “You” prove he’s guilty, and “We’ll” do the prosecuting.
Ping,.
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