Russia Probing Alleged U.K. Espionage

Russia's security agency said Friday it had launched an investigation into suspected British spying, based on information from Britain's chief suspect in the fatal poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko.

The suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, claimed last month that both Litvinenko and his patron, Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky, had contacts with British intelligence and that Berezovsky had given Britain sensitive information about Russia.

The announcement came against the background of persistent friction between Russia and the West, and repeated Russian claims that British and other Western intelligence agencies — as well as Russians who have found refuge abroad — are seeking to weaken Russia.

The Federal Security Service did not say who was suspected of spying on Russia, but its one-sentence statement said the criminal investigation was based on Lugovoi's statements.

Lugovoi has said Litvinenko and Berezovsky, both Kremlin opponents, had contacts with the British spy agency M16 and that Berezovsky had given British intelligence sensitive information about Russia. He said he had evidence but only would provide it to Russian investigators.

Britain and Berezovsky have denied the allegations, dismissed by Kremlin critics as an effort to distract attention from Moscow. Lugovoi, also a former KGB agent, is Britain's chief suspect in the poisoning case.

Lugovoi denies he killed Litvinenko, a Berezovsky ally who died Nov. 23 in a London hospital after ingesting radioactive polonium-210. In a deathbed statement, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind his killing. A former KGB agent, he had alleged the FSB was behind deadly 1999 bombings that stoked support for a new Kremlin war against Chechen rebels.

Lugovoi and business associate Dmitry Kovtun met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day he said he fell ill. Radiation traces were found at several locations connected with the men, including the hotel bar where they met Litvinenko.

Litvinenko's killing damaged Putin's image in the West, already tarnished by accusations of democratic backsliding and concerns over the Kremlin's treatment of critics. Kremlin allies have sought to counter that by suggesting the killing was masterminded by enemies of Russia to discredit the country and its leadership.

The new espionage case could further strain relations between London and Moscow, which is angry over Britain's refusal to hand over Berezovsky and other foes of Putin for prosecution in Russia.

Russia has long sought Berezovsky's extradition on charges of economic crimes. Britain granted the billionaire political asylum in 2003 after he had a falling out with Putin.

Both Kovtun and Lugovoi were questioned in the presence of British investigators in Moscow in December, and British authorities last month requested Lugovoi's extradition, saying they had sufficient evidence to charge him. Putin refused, calling the request "stupidity." He cited a constitutional prohibition on the extradition of Russian citizens.

Russian prosecutors have said Lugovoi could be tried in Russia if Britain provides enough evidence to warrant a charge, but Lugovoi is under no restrictions and has appeared on a handful of television news and talk shows.

Lugovoi declined to comment Friday on the FSB statement, but told ITAR-Tass that he was cooperating with Russian authorities, "including in questions of providing for the security of our state."