Tuesday, July 17, 2007

U.K. Expels Four Russian 'Diplomats'

"A U.K. citizen has suffered a horrifying and lingering death. His murder put hundreds of others, residents and visitors, at risk of radiation contamination, and the U.K. government has a wider duty to ensure the safety of the large Russian community living in the U.K.," said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband."The Russian authorities should be in no doubt that we expect nothing less than full cooperation over the investigation into the murder of Mr. Litvinenko," Miliband added, referring to the murder of former KGB Alexander Litvinenko, a British citizen poisoned in London in November.
Despite months of intense lobbying at the highest level, the Kremlin refuses to extradite the prime suspect in Litvinenko's murder, Andrei Lugovoy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ridiculed the request as "pure foolishness" as the Russian constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens. In response to Moscow's lack of collaboration with U.K. authorities, Miliband announced in the House of Commons that cooperation with Russia would be affected on a wide range of issues."The Russian government has failed to register either how seriously we treat this case or the seriousness of the issues involved, despite clear explanations of our need for a satisfactory response," Miliband told lawmakers. Read full story

No comments: