Poison spy case could 'damage Anglo-Russian relations'

Russia today warned that relations with Britain could be damaged if speculation continued to suggest that they were officially involved in the poison spy case.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he had spoken with British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett “about the necessity to avoid any kind of politicisation of this matter, this tragedy”.

He told the RIA-Novosti news agency: “If the British have questions, then they should be sent via the law enforcement agencies between which there are contacts.”

Lavrov did not specify what actions he would consider “politicisation” of the case of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.

British police investigating Litvinenko’s death from poisoning have officially requested assistance from their Russian counterparts and are due in Moscow to collect information, prosecutors said today.

Litvinenko, 43, died in London on November 23 after ingesting radioactive polonium-210. In a deathbed accusation, he blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning. The Kremlin has vehemently denied the accusations.

Lavrov denied reports saying Russian diplomats had been instructed to lodge a protest with British authorities over publication of Mr Litvinenko’s deathbed accusations.

“Diplomats have not received and could not receive such orders,” Lavrov said in Brussels, according to Russian news agencies.

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement that it agreed to help Scotland Yard officers in the investigation. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Russia has already issued visas for the team.

British law enforcement authorities have said a team of nine officers plans 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 also have been involved in the probe.