Campaigning Lugovoi Mocks MI6
By Douglas Birch
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — The former KGB officer named as a suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London said Wednesday the British government’s case against him had collapsed and called the slain man a “traitor.” In an interview with The Associated Press, Andrei Lugovoi, who is running for parliament in the Dec. 2 elections, said he expects his accusers to use the Nov. 23 anniversary of Litvinenko’s agonizing death from radiation poisoning to renew calls for his extradition. But the 43-year-old multimillionaire said the Russian constitution prevents him being handed over, so he is not concerned about what British officials and Litvinenko’s friends might demand. “I don’t give a damn about this raving and barking from across the channel,” Lugovoi said in his office in the Radisson Slavyanskaya hotel overlooking the Moscow River. “Several times, Russia’s law enforcement system and I have asked the British to provide proof and the evidence against me,” he said. “So far, they have no proof of any kind, and everything about the Litvinenko case is politicized. I’m sure they will not provide anything to anyone, and will keep the issue hot to further discredit Russia on the international scene.” Lugovoi also alleged the British were being egged on by fugitives wanted in Russia who are living in London, including billionaire Boris Berezovsky. “Britain has always been a country that allows all sorts of bastards to seek refuge on its territory,” he said. As he has in the past, Lugovoi insisted he would have returned to Britain to discuss the allegations against him if he had been invited. He said the case against him had essentially collapsed. “I congratulate MI6 and all British secret services with the loudest flop in their history,” he said. Litvinenko, himself a veteran of Russia’s security agencies, co-authored a book accusing former colleagues in Russia’s Federal Security Service of involvement in a series of deadly bombings in 1999. He fled to Britain in 2000 and was granted political asylum. Just before his death, Litvinenko was investigating the slaying of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist and critic of President Vladimir Putin. Litvinenko was poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210, and on his deathbed he blamed Putin. The Kremlin denies the allegation. Lugovoi, who had met with Litvinenko the day he fell ill, said Litvinenko has been falsely portrayed by the British government. “What really annoys me is how the British authorities say that Litvinenko was just a dissident writer living in London,” he said. “How can we talk about him being a writer when he was actually a traitor working for the English secret services, for which he was paid money?” Lugovoi repeated earlier charges that Litvinenko approached him about working as an informant for the British foreign intelligence service MI6. “British intelligence tried to recruit me,” Lugovoi said. “They tried to force me to betray Russia.” London’s Daily Mail has reported that Litvinenko was paid a monthly retainer of 2,000 pounds (about $4,000) by British secret services, and said he was recruited by the head of MI6. Lugovoi maintained Britain has historically regarded Russia as an enemy and imperial rival. “Britain has always waged a war against Russia — be it cold or hot — and utilized both its capacities and those of its neighbors,” he said. “The Cold War never started or ended, it always has been.” The allegations have made Lugovoi something of a celebrity.
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