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Putin implicated in fatal poisoning of former KGB spy at posh London hotel Putin implicated in fatal poisoning of former KGB spy at posh London hotel
(35 minutes later)
LONDON – Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely personally responsible for approving the fatal poisoning at a posh London hotel of a former KGB operative-turned-U.K. intelligence agent, according to the findings of a highly anticipated British inquiry released Thursday. LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely personally responsible for approving the fatal poisoning at a posh London hotel of a former KGB operative-turned-U.K. intelligence agent, according to the findings of a highly anticipated British inquiry released Thursday.
The conclusion, which comes nearly a decade after Alexander Litvinenko succumbed to the effects of polonium slipped into a cup of green tea at London’s Millennium Hotel, is sure to raise tensions between London and Moscow. It comes at a sensitive time, as the West seeks Russian cooperation in ending the Syrian war.The conclusion, which comes nearly a decade after Alexander Litvinenko succumbed to the effects of polonium slipped into a cup of green tea at London’s Millennium Hotel, is sure to raise tensions between London and Moscow. It comes at a sensitive time, as the West seeks Russian cooperation in ending the Syrian war.
The findings follow an extensive review that was led by a British high court judge, and was set up at the direction of the U.K. government. The inquiry found that two men deliberately poisoned Litvinenko, and were almost certainly working on behalf of the Russian intelligence agency FSB. The two named assassins, Andrei Lugovoi and Dimitry Kovtun, remain in Russia, and the Russian government has rebuffed British attempts to secure their extradition. Lugovoi, a former KGB officer, is now a member of the Russian parliament.
The inquiry found that two men deliberately poisoned Litvinenko, and were almost certainly working on behalf of the Russian intelligence agency FSB. The two named assassins, Andrei Lugovoi and Dimitry Kovtun, remain in Russia, and the Russian government has rebuffed British attempts to secure their extradition. Lugovoi, a former KGB officer, is a member of the Russian parliament. The inquiry's findings, set out over 328 pages, include that Putin had a personal motive for wanting Litvinenko dead, and that the president would likely have had to approve a high-stakes operation to assassinate the former KGB operative on British soil.
The inquiry found that Putin had a personal motive for wanting Litvinenko dead, and that the president would likely have had to approve a high-stakes operation to assassinate the former KGB operative on British soil. Before his death, Litvinenko had been an outspoken Putin critic, and had been assisting Spanish intelligence agencies with their investigations into Russian crime networks. Litvinenko was also on the payroll of Britain's main foreign intelligence service, MI6.
Before his death, Litvinenko had been a high-profile Putin critic, and had been assisting Spanish intelligence agencies with their investigations into Russian crime networks. Litvinenko was also on the payroll of Britain's foreign intelligence service, MI6. Litvinenko himself had accused Putin of orchestrating the assassination, signing a death-bed statement that alleged the Russian president had ordered Russian intelligence to carry out the killing. Before the poisoning, Litvinenko had publicly accused Putin of everything from corruption to pedophilia.
The findings follow an extensive, multi-year review that was led by British high court judge Robert Owen, and was set up at the direction of the U.K. government. Although the inquiry stops short of conclusively blaming Putin, citing the opaque nature of Kremlin politics, it concludes that there is "a strong circumstantial evidence that the Russian State was responsible for Mr. Litvinenko's death." And it finds that the operation would likely not have gone ahead without Putin's direct approval.
The conclusion places the British government in a tricky position.
Litvinenko was a British citizen at the time of his death, and had spent years on the payroll of MI6, following his decision to defect from Russia in 2000. But it comes as Britain, along with other Western countries, has been seeking a rapprochement with Moscow in order to end the war in Syria.
Following the report's release, Marina Litvinenko, the former spy's widow, called on British Prime Minister David Cameron to expel Russian intelligence officials from Britain and for Russia to be slapped with new economic sanctions.
“I am of course very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his deathbed — when he accused Mr. Putin of his murder — have been proved true,” she said, speaking to reporters outside of the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
Alex Goldfarb, a friend of Litvinenko and author of “Death of a Dissident,” a book about the case, told the BBC: “I think it’s a very proper and fair finding because nobody in the Russian hierarchy would dare to order such a murder without Mr. Putin’s approval.”
Lugovoi, the man implicated as the primary assassin, said Thursday that the charges against him were “absurd,” the Interfax news agency reported.
“The results of the investigation announced today once again confirm the anti-Russian stance of London,” Lugovoi said.
Even with the new findings, Lugovoi and Kovtun are almost certainly not to be extradited. Russia does not extradite its citizens, and Lugovoi has been rewarded in the years since the Litvinenko killing with a seat in parliament.
The charges were dismissed in advance by the Kremlin, with a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin saying Wednesday that “this is not a subject that could be of interest to us,” Interfax reported.
Lugovoi and Kovtun had long been suspected of carrying out the murder. But Thursday's report lays out a comprehensive case linking them to the killing. According to the report, the two men lured Litvinenko to the Pine Bar at the Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1, 2006, and served him a cup of green tea laced with a massive dose of the radioactive substance polonium 210.
Traces of the isotope were later found in many of the same places where the two alleged killers had visited: The hotel's bathroom, their hotel room, a board room where they conducted an earlier meeting and the plane they traveled aboard.
Litvinenko became seriously ill later on the night of the 1st, which was the sixth anniversary of his arrival in the U.K. He suffered massive internal organ failure, and died at a London hospital 22 days later.
This is a developing story. More to come.This is a developing story. More to come.
Birnbaum reported from Moscow. Karla Adam contributed to this report from London.