Russia: Ahead of Litvinenko report, Kremlin says U.K. inquiry 'not of interest'
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 20 January 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Ahead of Litvinenko report, Kremlin says U.K. inquiry 'not of interest', 20 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56c429268.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
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January 20, 2016
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on January 20 that the findings of a public inquiry by Britain into the murder in London of former FSB officer Aleksandr Litvinenko are "not among issues of interest" to the Kremlin.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks in Moscow a day before a report on the findings was expected to be released by the head of the inquiry, Judge Robert Owen.
In July 2015, during hearings at London's Royal Courts of Justice, a lawyer for Litvinenko's widow accused Putin of ordering Litvinenko's murder and said the Kremlin was obstructing investigators.
Attorney Ben Emmerson told the inquiry that Litvinenko "had been identified as an enemy of [the Russian] state who had to be liquidated" because he was going to expose links between Putin and organized crime.
British police have accused two Russians – Dimitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi – of carrying out the killing, sponsored by elements in the Kremlin.
Both deny involvement and Moscow refuses to extradite them.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Al-Jazeera
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
