Putin ‘Probably Approved’ Ex-Spy’s Murder, Says UK Inquiry

Alexander Litvinenko was “deliberately poisoned” in an operation “probably” approved by Vladimir Putin, a public inquiry has found.

Lugovoy, now a Russian lawmaker, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the accusation was absurd.

A British inquest set to be released on January 21 is expected to conclude that Russia was behind the 2006 murder of the former Russian spy Aleksandr Litvinenko. May added that British Prime Minister David Cameron will talk to Putin about the report at “the next available opportunity”.

Using polonium-210 was “at minimum a powerful indication of state participation” as it had to be produced in a nuclear reactor, the report said.

There was “undoubtedly a personal dimension to the antagonism” between Mr Putin and Mr Litvinenko, he added. “We regret that a purely criminal case has been politicized and clouded the overall atmosphere of bilateral relations”, said foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

His widow, Marina Litvinenko, said she was pleased with the outcome of the report.

The original police investigation led British prosecutors to demand the extradition from Russian Federation on murder charges of Andrei Lugovoi, a former Kremlin bodyguard who had tea with Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in London’s upmarket Mayfair area.

Litvinenko sought asylum in Britain in 2000 and proceeded to make a series of very personal attacks on Putin as well as damning allegations against the Russian government and FSB. He says there is a “strong probability” that the FSB directed the killing and the operation was “probably approved” by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On his death bed, Litvinenko told his wife, “Putin did it”.

Britain has already summoned the Russian ambassador and imposed asset freezes on the two men identified as he perpetrators.

Speaking before Parliament, U.K. Home secretary Theresa May called the poisoning “a blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenets of worldwide law and civilized behavior”, but conceded that Putin’s apparent role “does not come as a surprise”.

The inquiry claimed that Russian citizens Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun killed Litvinenko in London in 2006.

Beyond those limited expressions of protest, it is unclear how the British government will respond to the inquiry’s findings, especially as Western powers court Russian Federation for its help in resolving the civil war in Syria. The report doesn’t offer any direct evidence linking Putin to Litvinenko’s assassination, but Owen concludes there is “strong circumstantial evidence of Russian state responsibility”. Owen holds 34 days of public hearings and also looks at secret intelligence evidence behind closed doors.