news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070220/ap_on_re_eu/poisoned_spy
AP Russians, British meet over spy death By TARIQ PANJA, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 20, 11:57 AM ET LONDON - Scotland Yard said that investigators from Russia were in London on Tuesday to discuss the inquiry into the poisoning death of a former KGB agent turned Kremlin critic.
The former agent, Alexander Litvinenko, was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in London and died Nov. Russian officials have complained that it has taken Britain more than a month to approve their request to visit several sites and question about 100 people, including the exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. "Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's inquiry team are currently meeting representatives from the Russian Prosecutor's Office to discuss the progression of their request for mutual legal assistance regarding the death of Alexander Litvinenko," a Scotland Yard spokesman told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with force policy. The Russian Embassy confirmed that a Russian official had arrived to talk to police, adding that he was making a preparatory visit ahead of the possible arrival of a larger team of investigators. Scotland Yard said the meeting did not mean Russia would be granted access to witnesses in their investigation, saying they were only "discussing" the status of the Russian investigators' request. British police traveled to Moscow in December and were present during questioning of Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, two Russian businessmen who met with Litvinenko in London on Nov. No additional interviews by British investigators in Russia are expected. Litvinenko, once an agent in the KGB and its successor, the Federal Security Service or FSB, was granted asylum in Britain after accusing his superiors of ordering him to kill Berezovsky.
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