Posted on 11/28/2006 11:47:12 PM PST by MadIvan
The Kremlin mounted a concerted campaign yesterday to point the finger of suspicion at the billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky over the death of his friend, Alexander Litvinenko, after traces of radioactive polonium-210 were found at the London offices of the exiled Russian oligarch.
Senior figures in the Russian establishment lined up to implicate Mr Berezovsky, who employed and funded the former KGB spy.
The billionaire, who has been granted asylum in Britain, last night issued a statement mourning Mr Litvinenko’s death and saying that he had “complete faith” that Scotland Yard would conduct a “thorough and professional investigation”.
Detectives are understood to want to question Mr Berezovsky in further detail about the events of November 1, the day that Mr Litvinenko fell ill.
Mr Berezovsky has declined to explain publicly why Mr Litvinenko, who was recently given British citizenship, visited his headquarters in Mayfair that day.
The billionaire has accused President Putin’s regime of being behind the murder.
In his first comment on the Litvinenko affair Tony Blair yesterday insisted that no “diplomatic or political barrier” would be permitted to obstruct the police inquiry, even if the evidence pointed to a statesponsored killing.
The Prime Minister, who was on a brief stopover in Copenhagen on his way to the Nato summit in Riga, said that Mr Litvinenko’s death was being treated as a “very, very serious matter”.
He added: “We are determined to find out what happened and who is responsible.”
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office declared that it was ready to assist the British police. A spokesman said that British detectives would be welcome to come to Moscow and would receive the Government’s full co-operation.
Mr Blair has been kept informed of developments in the inquiry, but he is not scheduled to meet President Putin in Riga. So far the Prime Minister has not spoken to Mr Putin about the case, but will do so when the time is “appropriate”.
Mr Putin has strenuously denied that the Russian authorities had anything to do with Mr Litvinenko’s death.
Police have questioned Mario Scaramella, an Italian nuclear expert who met Mr Litvinenko at a sushi bar in Piccadilly, where evidence of the radioactive poison was found. So far polonium-210 has been found at seven locations across London.
At one of those sites — 25 Grosvenor Street, the offices of Erinys, an international security company — a spokesman said that Mr Litvinenko did not work for them but had been visiting a friend there.
As Kremlin sources made their claims against Mr Berezovsky, a number of prominent politicians in Moscow named him publicly as a key figure in the affair.
Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, said that Mr Litvinenko was linked with “certain oligarchs, including Mr Berezovsky, who in recent years have been deprived of the chance to buy corrupt power with stolen money, and apparently cannot accept this”.
In the past Russia has tried to extradite him on financial charges but the request was refused by Britain after Mr Berezovsky argued that the charge was politically motivated.
Valery Dyatlenko, a deputy head of the security committee in the Duma, Russia’s lower house, told state television: “The death of Litvinenko — for Russia, for the security services — means nothing . . . I think this is another game of some kind by Berezovsky.”
Toxicologists tested for the presence of polonium-210 at more locations in Central London that had been visited by Mr Litvinenko on the day he fell ill.
Eight people have been sent for further tests at a specialist clinic by the Health Protection Agency to check for contamination. The agency has received more than 1,100 calls from members of the public worried that they might have been exposed to radiation, but officials insisted that there was little likelihood of any risk.
As the scale of the scare grew, John Reid, the Home Secretary, issued another statement that the risk to the public was minimal.
Special precautions will be in place for a Home Office pathologist to carry out a postmortem examination as well as a “special examination” of Mr Litvinenko’s body on Friday.
Andrew Reid, the Inner North London Coroner, said that the examination was necessary to fully investigate the cause of death.
Ivan
Ivan
That is far more compelling than these elaborate fantasies you're spinning.
But go right ahead. This is right out of a John LeCarre novel.
Ivan
The Polonium had to come from a sophisticated source. Either it was connected to Putin, or it wanted to appear connected to Putin. I don't have a dog in this fight, but it seems like there are an awful lot of people who eagerly jumped on the anti-Putin bandwagon.
What's with this whole Chechen connection with Berezovsky and Litvinenko?
Occam's Razor time - the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. What does Russia gain from killing Litvinenko? Putin not only silences a critic, he also sends a powerful message to those who object to his regime based abroad. That, coupled with the radioactive material, which contrary to what you may hear, is not easy to get - points the finger at a state, namely Russia.
The idea that Berezovsky would poison his own colleague in the attempt to discredit Russia would be extremely expensive and pointless.
Ivan
There is a major difference between saying, "I don't honestly know, but I have an opinion," and stating emphatically, "Without doubt Putin did it." You simply cannot accept there just might be other possibilities. I am not saying one should have an open mind to the point their brains fall out, but your's is set in concrete.
I'm sorry, but what you're saying is utterly ridiculous. ==
You simply do not know who Berezovskii is. He is well known swindler and provocateer. He can do everything if it is in his favor.
Those oligarkhs are all the same. Khodorkovskii ordered hits of his competitors and the major of sibirian town. Gusinskii stole hunderds millions of dollars. Berezovskii was the main cofounder of LogoVAZ well knownb swindler scheme in Russia. He is wanted by the prosecutor office but your goverment covers him from justice.
You patriotism do not allow you to admit that Britain gave her shores to outright criminals.
That web page appears to be a spoof.
That, coupled with the radioactive material, which contrary to what you may hear, is not easy to get - points the finger at a state, namely Russia.==
Not easy to get?:)) You can get it over the internet. Go there:
http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm ..
I basically agree with that, but there are many people who don't like Putin who could be connected. If the killing is quickly considered a "message from Putin" to his critics, then that makes alternatives more likely. In any case, Occam's razor would have made Litvinenko quietly disappear, not die loudly the way he did.
I went to that page and I am 100% certain that page is a spoof. Perhaps you are humor impaired?
In any case, Occam's razor would have made Litvinenko quietly disappear, not die loudly the way he did.==
Exactly. Especcially during his vist to Europe summit. Didn't you notice such scandals happened regularly during his vists to Europe. Why such didn't happen during his vists to Asia for example?
But other thing. Putin with his approval rate about 75% can perfectly ignore all critics that what he did accually. Anyways he will be gone after 2 years so why he would kill those negligible to hime figures as Politkovskaya or Litvinenko?
I went to that page and I am 100% certain that page is a spoof. Perhaps you are humor impaired?==
OK. I didn't buy nothing from them so I couldn't sure:).
I figured somebody would remark on that comment of Pres. Bush, years back, about Putin. Congratulations.
At THAT POINT in time it was not inappropriate for the Pres to try to show some confidence/hope in the newest Russian leader. There wasn't evidence to believe Putin was going to turn out to be nothing more than a pinko-commie es-KGB thug and every reason to publically inspire him to be a real leader for Russia.
It's certainly not Bush's fault that Putin hasn't risen to the challenge that destiny provided for him.
I've never ever ever understood the Russians. Your insight may help.
Too bad they can't come to the realization that sometimes a cigar is simply a cigar.
Hey RusIvan, how did the FSB kill Khattab?
After a little research, it appears that the 0.1 uCi lump of Polonium 210 that they are selling weighs 0.00000000002 grams (http://www.signal94.blogspot.com) and would give off as much alpha particles as the paint on the dials of an old watch. A lethal amount of Polonium is 0.12 millionths of a gram and all you get for $69 is 0.00002 grams, so your approximate cost to kill someone would be $414,000 plus a phone call or personal visit from the NRC.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.