Britain could be willing to hold the trial of the chief suspect in the London killing of the former Russian KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in a third country, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman signalled yesterday.
Russia has refused to extradite suspect Andrei Lugovoi, whom Britain accuses of feeding Litvinenko a fatal dose of a radioactive substance last November. Britain this week ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats in retaliation for Moscow's refusal.
Russia has threatened strong but unspecified measures in response, leading to concerns that both sides were taking extreme positions that could make resolution of the dispute difficult.
But Brown's spokesman Michael Ellam hinted there was room to move.
Asked whether Britain would continue to demand that Lugovoi be tried on British soil, Ellam responded: "That's not what I'm saying. It was a crime committed on British soil; it should be tried in a British court."
'Killing plot' foiled
Ellam's comment came a day after Boris Berezovsky, a British-based Russian tycoon who blamed the Kremlin for Litvinenko's killing, suggested Lugovoi could be tried in a third country.
Berezovsky, who is sought by Russia for trial on charges of embezzlement and money-laundering, also said he himself could agree to a third-country trial, although it was not clear whether he would accept a Russian court convened elsewhere.
Berezovsky, a one-time Kremlin insider who fell out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said yesterday that he fled Britain briefly last month because British intelligence services told him his life was in danger.
"I was informed by Scotland Yard that there was a plot to kill me and they recommended to me to leave the country," Berezovsky said. He said he left Britain for about a week and returned when Scotland Yard told him the plot had been foiled.
Berezovsky was granted political asylum in Britain in 2003. His visibility has increased since the murder of Litvinenko, who also was a harsh critic of Putin.
Bombers near UK air space
Russia's air force commander denied yesterday two of his long-range bombers intended to enter British air space on Tuesday, saying the planes were on a training flight unconnected to recent diplomatic tension between London and Moscow.
Britain's Royal Air Force scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Tupolev "Bear" bombers as they headed towards British air space but a Defense Ministry spokesman in London said the bombers turned back long before reaching Britain.
"Our planes were flying planned flights over neutral waters," Russian Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin told the Interfax news agency.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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