Investigators request assistance with Litvinenko case

British coroners investigating the poisoning death of a former KGB spy have officially requested assistance from their Russian counterparts and are soon due in Moscow to collect information, prosecutors said today.

Alexander Litvinenko, 43, died on November 23 in London after being exposed to a rare radioactive element.

The Russian prosecutor general’s office said in a statement it has agreed to help the British investigators in their probe.

A British foreign ministry spokesman said Russia has already issued visas for the team.

British law-enforcement authorities have said a team of nine officers planned to travel to Moscow within days to interview several people, including Andrei Lugovoi, another former spy who met Litvinenko on November 1, the day he fell ill.

FBI agents have also been involved in the probe.

In a deathbed accusation Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning.

The Kremlin has vehemently denied the accusations.