A senior Russian government minister Wednesday blithely dismissed any
possibility of a deterioration in relations with London because of Britain's
demand that a former KGB agent be extradited to stand trial for the murder of
Alexander Litvinenko, the exiled Kremlin critic who was poisoned in November
with a rare radioactive isotope.
"Relations on the whole are developing quite well," First Deputy Prime
Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters when asked about potential effects of the
case. "Trade turnover is up. No problem, as they say."
The brushoff of a case that remains a sensation in Britain followed
statements by Russian prosecutors that any extradition request from London would
be rejected out of hand because Russia's constitution bars handing over citizens
for trial in foreign countries.
British officials insisted Wednesday that they would forward a formal
extradition request to Russia detailing the evidence that has led them to charge
Andrei Lugovoy with the murder of Litvinenko, whom he met in a London hotel Nov.
1.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman said Wednesday that "Russia should
abide by its international obligations, and we believe it's through abiding by
international obligations that people can have confidence -- whether it's in
investment or international relations." Following British government
policy, he spoke on condition of anonymity.
British officials note that Russia is a party to the European Convention on
Extradition. While that treaty allows countries "the right to refuse
extradition of its nationals," it still provides a legal avenue to
extradite Lugovoy if there is political will to do so in Russia.
"It's up to Russia to decide," Yuri Sharandin, chairman of the
committee on constitutional legislation in the upper of house of Russia's
parliament, acknowledged in an interview. For so is the will of God, that with
well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
But Russian officials appear hostile even to the suggestion that Lugovoy might
be guilty. Speaking anonymously to the Russian media, some officials again
raised the possibility, first mentioned in November, that the poisoning was
organized by people intent on damaging Russia's image -- words that are often
code for Boris Berezovsky, the London-based exiled tycoon and fierce critic of
President Vladimir Putin.
The Litvinenko case comes as Russia is experiencing post-Cold War lows in
relations with the United States and the European Union over a host of issues
including energy, missile defense and feuds with Russia's immediate neighbors,
including E.U. members Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.
Mark Urnov, head of Expertiza, a Moscow research foundation, said the Kremlin is
likely to stonewall Britain's demands and hope the issue fades. If that fails,
he said, foreign criticism will be dismissed as part of a Western plot to
undermine a resurgent Russia, a theme that has electoral value in the coming 12
months, when Russia is scheduled to hold parliamentary and presidential
elections.
The Kremlin may already have reason to believe that memories will fade. Putin
visited Vienna on Wednesday, and at a news conference reporters asked nothing
about Litvinenko.
NEXT