Latest report:
UK police in Moscow for Litvinenko probe 
Related: Poisoned former Russian spy
dies
MOSCOW,
Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian prosecutors have formally opened a criminal
investigation into the poisoning death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, and a
related murder attempt on a Russian businessman, the Prosecutor General's office
said on Thursday in a statement.
The statement said that the criminal investigation
had been launched as a result of inspections, which revealed that Litvinenko
died after being poisoned with a radioactive nuclide.
"The examination revealed that Litvinenko died after
being poisoned with a radioactive nuclide, and (Dmitry) Kovtun, who met with
Litvinenko in London in October 2006, was diagnosed with a disease also
connected with a radioactive nuclide," the statement said.
Kovtun is the business partner of Andrei Lugovoi,
whom Britain views as a key suspect in Litvinenko's death probe.
Traces of radiation have been detected in the hotel
rooms in London where Lugovoi stayed in October and November, and on the
airliners in which he flew to Britain, Russian daily Kommersant said on
Wednesday.
The Russian chief prosecutor said on Tuesday that
Russia would not extradite to Britain possible suspects in the poisoning death
of Litvinenko but would help British police investigate the case.
British detectives went to Moscow this week as the
investigation widened.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said that a
team of its investigators may fly to London for investigations.
"We do not exclude that in case there is a need for a
more detailed investigation of the circumstances of the case, a team from the
Prosecutor General's Office may fly to Britain to work locally," Marina
Gridneva, a Prosecutor General's Office official, was quoted by the Interfax
news agency.
Litvinenko died of radioactive poisoning in London on
Nov. 23. Experts investigating his death have found radiation traces at a dozen
locations and on two British Airways planes that flew the Moscow-London route.
Russia: Litvinenko case not affecting
ties with UK
MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Scotland Yard's investigation
into the death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in Russia was in no
way affecting Russian-British relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said on Thursday.
"The inquiry by Scotland Yard is not affecting our
political relations," Lavrov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as
saying.
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