Medvedev and Cameron discussed the Litvinenko case

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed the murder of ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko. According to the results of negotiations of Russian and British leaders, the press conference showed the Russia 24 television channel live.

Cameron emphasized that the question of Extraced to the UK State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi, suspected of murder, is an important problem in relations between the two countries. The British prime minister explained that it is not worth freezing completely diplomatic relations between Russia and Great Britain, even if two governments cannot come to an agreement on the Litvinenko case. At the same time, the British recalled that the cooperation of the Russian and British special services was still suspended.

Medvedev, in turn, stated that the 161st article of the Russian Constitution prohibits issuing Russian citizens to foreign states. “We all need to respect our legal principles,” the head of state added. He noticed that Moscow also has “questions” to London, but Russia, unlike Great Britain, does not insist on them so hard. Nevertheless, Medvedev did not specify exactly what questions Russia wants to ask the British government.

Former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who has lived in the UK since 2000, died of Polonium poisoning in the London Hospital in November 2006. This murder caused a large international scandal. British investigators called the main suspect a Russian businessman, also a former special services employee Andrei Lugovoi. However, the Russian authorities refuse to give it out-since then this issue has been one of the most sick in Russian-British relations.

Due to the “Litvinenko case” between Moscow and London there was an exchange of sharp statements, after which London suspended cooperation with Russian special services in the fight against terrorism. In addition, negotiations were suspended on facilitating the visa regime for Russian citizens. In response in Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg, branches of the British Council were closed. In exchange for the termination of pressure on the British Council of the Russian Foreign Ministry, he demanded that London resume contacts with the FSB and resume work to relieve the visa regime with Russia.

In early November 2009, the British Foreign Minister David Milibend, who visited Russia for the first time in five years, at a meeting with Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov said that London would continue to achieve the issuance of meadow. Lavrov once again noted that the Russian Constitution does not allow Russian citizens to issue Russian citizens to foreign states.