Putin �probably approved� Litvinenko killing: UK

AFP, LONDON: Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the killing of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, a British inquiry into his agonising death by radiation poisoning found Thursday.
Litvinenko, a prominent Kremlin critic, died three weeks after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium at an upmarket London hotel in 2006. Two Russians, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun, were identified by British police as prime suspects but attempts to extradite the pair have failed.
The findings of the 300-page report pile pressure on Britain to act against Russia in response. Home Secretary Theresa May is due to outline the government reaction in a statement to parliament later on Thursday.
“The FSB operation to kill Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr (Nikolai) Patrushev and also by President Putin,” the report said.
Patrushev is a former director of the FSB, the successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB spy agency, and has been a key security minister since 2008. “I am sure that Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium-210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on November 1, 2006,” judge Robert Owen, the inquiry’s chairman, said in the report.
Russia dismissed the findings, calling the inquiry “politically motivated”.
“We had no reason to expect that the final findings of the politically motivated and extremely non-transparent process... would suddenly become objective and unbiased,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Putin �probably approved� Litvinenko killing: UK

AFP, LONDON: Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the killing of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, a British inquiry into his agonising death by radiation poisoning found Thursday. Litvinenko, a prominent Kremlin critic, died three weeks after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium at an upmarket London hotel in 2006. Two Russians, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun, were identified by British police as prime suspects but attempts to extradite the pair have failed. The findings of the 300-page report pile pressure on Britain to act against Russia in response. Home Secretary Theresa May is due to outline the government reaction in a statement to parliament later on Thursday. The FSB operation to kill Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr (Nikolai) Patrushev and also by President Putin, the report said. Patrushev is a former director of the FSB, the successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB spy agency, and has been a key security minister since 2008. I am sure that Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium-210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on November 1, 2006, judge Robert Owen, the inquirys chairman, said in the report. Russia dismissed the findings, calling the inquiry politically motivated. We had no reason to expect that the final findings of the politically motivated and extremely non-transparent process... would suddenly become objective and unbiased, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.