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(By Tatyana Baidakova. Izvestia, Jan. 22, 2016, p. 3. Condensed text:) Great Britain wants to tarnish Russia and its leadership. That is what Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during her weekly briefing on Jan. 21 regarding the death of former FSB [Federal Security Service] officer Aleksandr Litvinenko [see Current Digest, Vol. 58, No. 48, pp. 1 - 3]. ... "It is obvious that there are some behind-the-scenes machinations going on. This was the logical conclusion to the quasi-judicial process instigated by the British court and the executive branch, which is in and of itself controversial, to put it mildly. ‘Criminal' would be a better word for it. There was just one goal here, and it was obvious from the beginning: to tarnish Russia, its official representatives and leadership," Maria Zakharova said. "Russia has stated several times that it is interested in an objective and unbiased investigation regarding the death of not just Litvinenko, but Russian citizens overall who often have died in Great Britain under various circumstances, including suspicious ones." ... [Zakharova] also stated that Moscow intends to share its views with the British side. ... Earlier, Aleksandr Yakovenko, the Russian ambassador in London, was summoned to the British Foreign Office in order to discuss additional information that came to light in the [Litvinenko] case. ... "I am sure that Aleksandr Yakovenko will find the right words to let our colleagues know exactly what we think of this farce. We also intend to share our views with British diplomats in the near future - Moscow will also hold the necessary meetings," Maria Zakharova said. ... "The Russian side has every reason to state that it will not accept any verdict reached by such an ‘investigation.' Moreover, according to media leaks, the ruling in the ‘public inquiry' was based on prima facie evidence - that is, evidence that seems credible and sufficient to open a criminal case, as well as ‘sufficient in the absence of any evidence to the contrary.' In other words, the principle of the presumption of innocence has been violated - and at the level of international relations, no less," a [Russian] Foreign Ministry source told Izvestia. ... On Jan. 21, British investigative agencies released the results of a public inquiry into the death of Russian citizen [Aleksandr Litvinenko]. According to the document, London found that Litvinenko's former colleagues Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi were complicit in his death. At the same time, the investigation states that they were "acting on behalf of others." The document maintains that the Russian leadership approved Litvinenko's killing. ... At the same time, Moscow is certain that the British public inquiry is based on the hysterical rhetoric of hand-picked witnesses, including anonymous "professional Russophobes" and defectors. ... The Russian Foreign Ministry also pointed out that two key witnesses died under suspicious circumstances by the time a decision to conduct the "public inquiry" was made. The first [witness] is David West, owner of a London restaurant called Abracadabra [sic; Hey Jo - Trans.], which was often frequented by Aleksandr Litvinenko and Boris Berezovsky, and where traces of polonium were discovered two days before Litvinenko met with Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun. The second is Berezovsky himself. The investigation [into his death; see Current Digest, Vol. 65, No. 13, pp. 3 - 7 - Trans.] was limited to an "open verdict" at the insistence of his relatives, who refused to consider any other explanations besides suicide or accidental causes. ... Moscow is certain that the investigation into Berezovsky's death was also accompanied by a biased hand selection of witnesses and a refusal to examine any evidence to the contrary, including information on Berezovsky's letters to the Russian leadership asking to allow him to return to Russia. ... According to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, the conclusions of the British investigation regarding [Litvinenko's] death are a provocation prepared by the British authorities together with the late Berezovsky: ... "This is a well thought-out provocation in a series of nasty surprises that Berezovsky had once planned against Russia. But I met with him two months before his death, and he told me that if he could get Russian citizenship and be allowed to return to Moscow, he was prepared to call off [the Litvinenko case] and would even convince Litvinenko's wife to finally tell the truth." ... According to an informed Izvestia source in the Russian Foreign Ministry, we are seeing a pattern emerge: Russian citizens who "worked with" British special services are dying in England under suspicious circumstances. ... "We can only guess what the purpose of such ‘work' is. It is possible that it has something to do with a general deterioration in relations after we disagreed with the US and Great Britain on the issue of the Iraq war in spring 2003," the source said. |
