Tensions between Russia and the UK over the ongoing investigation into the poisoning death of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko have escalated to a new level with the United Kingdom's decision to expel four Russian diplomats in response to Moscow's refusal to hand over Britain's chief suspect in the murder, Andrei Lugovoi. Russia responded with tit-for-tat measures Thursday, declaring four British diplomats persona non grata and giving them ten days to leave the country. The new conflict affected everything from visa regulations to anti-terrorism cooperation. But at the heart of the stalemate is not only Russia's firm stance on extradition, but also Britain's years-long refusal to hand over exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky, wanted by Moscow on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and an attempt to organize an armed uprising.
On Thursday the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador Anthony Brenton for a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. Minutes after the meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin announced the expulsion of four British diplomats, ending three days of suspense regarding what Russia promised to be a "targeted and adequate" response. The expulsion was accompanied by visa measures. "Until there is clarification, Russian officials will not request British visas and visa applications by British government officials will not be considered," Kamynin was quoted by news agencies as saying. More worrisome still were plans to halt joint anti-terrorism efforts. "The measures announced by London on July 16 regrettably make Russian-British cooperation against terrorism impossible."
London had moved Monday to expel four Russian diplomats, the latest flare in the months-long row. "Given the importance of this issue, and Russia's failure to cooperate, we need an appropriate response," Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a speech to the House of Commons Monday. "First, we will expel four diplomats from the Russian Embassy in London.
On Thursday, in reaction to the expulsions, Miliband claimed the move was "completely unjustified."
"We are disappointed that the Russian government should have signalled no new cooperation in the case of the extradition of Mr Andrei Lugovoi for the alleged murder of Alexander Litvinenko. We obviously believe that the decision to expel four embassy staff is completely unjustified and will be doing everything to ensure that they and their families are properly looked after," Miliband said.
Both Western and Russian media heralded a new low in relations between the two countries, with British businessmen bracing for trouble ahead from Russian officials, while officials in Moscow warned of an upcoming visa war.
Britain has tried to dispel these fears, however. "We do not expect this to affect the business atmosphere," a British Embassy spokesman told The Moscow News. As for Miliband's reference to visas, the spokesman said the "measures apply only to visa applications applied for by the [Russian] government. It will not affect other categories like business, tourist, or student visas."
Russia responded with a firm warning on Tuesday, when Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko promised a "targeted and adequate reaction," adding that London's position was a direct path to confrontation, something that Moscow would like to avoid.
"They are trying to punish us for abiding by our own Constitution, which is not only unfair and unacceptable, but also contradicts common sense," Grushko said. The official cited 21 people, including Berezovsky and Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, whom Britain has refused to extradite.
A statement from the EU Presidency, meanwhile, suggested it was up to Moscow to keep the row from escalating further. "The EU expresses its disappointment at Russia's failure to cooperate constructively with the UK authorities. The EU underlines the importance of urgent and constructive cooperation by the Russian Federation on this matter and hopes for a satisfactory solution to this matter, which raises important questions of common interest to EU Member States."
Moscow reacted firmly to this statement, calling it an "unpleasant surprise."
"This will certainly affect relations between the EU and Russia," Russian EU representative Vladimir Chizhov said Thursday in Brussels, Interfax reported.
The current standoff started May 28, when Britain's Crown Prosecution Service presented Russian authorities with a formal request to hand over Lugovoi, whom Britain accuses of poisoning Litvinenko, who died 22 days following his November 1 lunch with Lugovoi. "It is alleged that... Mr. Lugovoi poisoned Mr. Litvinenko by administering a lethal dose of Polonium-210, a highly radioactive substance," Miliband said in his address. "It is part of the prosecution case that on the afternoon of November 1 2006, Mr. Litvinenko drank tea which he had poured, after an invitation from Mr. Lugovoi, from a teapot which was later found to be heavily contaminated with Polonium-210. There is also evidence that shows a trail of Polonium-210 on aircraft in which Mr. Lugovoi traveled to and from London."
Russia's Deputy Prosecutor General responded that Russia's Constitution bars extradition. Miliband suggested in response that Russia amend its Constitution: "This situation is not unique, and other countries have amended their constitutions, for example to give effect to the European Arrest Warrant."
"British officials have put themselves in a corner when asking for my extradition, knowing that the Russian constitution doesn't allow this," Lugovoi said in an exclusive Monday night interview with the Russia Today channel. "They knew Russia would refuse, then the hysteria started, then they say everything here is under some pressure. All of this is being done to distract the public from the investigation that is being carried out by the Federal Security Service."
Lugovoi, who says he was "ready to cooperate and fly to London," claimed that he was never contacted by British authorities with a formal invitation.
The corner that Lugovoi refers to also involves Boris Berezovsky, who was friends with both Litvinenko and Lugovoi. While Berezovsky has directly blamed President Vladimir Putin for playing a role in Litvinenko's murder, reports in the Russian press have suggested that Berezovsky himself could have had a hand, in an attempt to darken the regime he has spent so much time fighting against.
British papers are reflecting a general state of hysteria around the former media mogul, who has claimed that he has survived repeated assassination attempts himself. In the latest reports by The Sun, British intelligence foiled a plot by a Russian hitman to shoot Berezovsky in front of London's Hilton Hotel. The suspect was arrested through joint efforts by police and anti-terrorist squads from Scotland Yard.
Berezovsky, once an ally of Putin, fled Russia in 2000, trailed by allegations of fraud and embezzlement. He obtained British asylum in 2003, when he launched an ongoing campaign criticizing the Kremlin, which has repeatedly sought extradition. Another man who is wanted by Russia and whom British authorities have also repeatedly refused to extradite is Chechen separatist emissary Ahmed Zakayev, whom Moscow has accused of being involved in several terrorist attacks on Russian soil. Zakayev claimed asylum in Great Britain in 2002.
Britain has resisted attempts to equate Lugovoi with refugees such as Berezovsky and Zakayev. An Embassy spokesman explained in a statement to The Moscow News that "these are two entirely different issues." In the case of Berezovsky, "it is a question of the courts, which have refused to extradite him." The case of Litvinenko, meanwhile, "was an exceptionally grave crime in which a British citizen was poisoned and the lives of thousands of citizens were put at risk."
Berezovsky is wanted for attempts to organize armed uprisings against the government.
By Anna Arutunyan
