A senior Russian prosecutor Monday expressed hope of cooperation with Britain in the poisoning case of former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko but threw doubts on the objectivity of British evidence.
"The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office remains open to cooperation and expects from the British side effective interaction," Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev told a press conference.
The prosecutor suggested that Britain send to the Prosecutor General's Office a request to launch criminal proceedings in the Litvinenko case "with all the available documents attached."
The current materials submitted by the British side, however, "do not testify to objectivity," and "a political motive" could be traced in the investigation, he said.
Moscow and London announced earlier this month reciprocal expulsions of four diplomats, escalating the dispute over the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the poisoning case of Litvinenko.
Britain has asked Russia to hand over Lugovoi, who is accused of murdering Litvinenko in London last November while Russia insists that the businessman and former secret agent should be put on trial in Russia according to its constitution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, last Thursday played down the dispute, describing it as a "mini-crisis" and added that Russian-British relations will develop normally.
Source: Xinhua
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