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Moscow's espionage row with the West deepening

Russian authorities tried to turn the tables on Britain over the poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, saying on Friday they were investigating allegations of British espionage made by the suspect British prosecutors have named in the case.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the investigation was based on information from Andrei Lugovoi -- another former KGB operative whom Russian prosecutors have said could be tried in Russia if Britain provides sufficient evidence.

The announcement is likely to deepen tensions between London and Moscow, which has bluntly rejected Britain's request for Lugovoi's extradition to face charges in the killing of Litvinenko, an ally of influential Kremlin foe Boris Berezovsky.

binding russia

Russian authorities appear to be using Lugovoi's accounts of the tangled Litvinenko case to support allegations that Britain and other Western countries -- along with Kremlin critics they have given refuge -- are plotting to weaken a resurgent Russia.

With friction increasing between Russia and the West, Moscow has repeatedly accused Britain of espionage. Last year, the FSB accused four British diplomats of spying after a state-run TV report said British diplomats had contacted Russian agents using communications equipment hidden in a fake rock at a Moscow park.

Litvinenko, who had asylum in Britain and alleged the FSB was behind deadly 1999 bombings that stoked support for the second Chechen war, died on Nov. 23 in a London hospital after ingesting radioactive polonium-210. In a deathbed statement, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind his death.

speculation

The poisoning fueled speculation of possible official Russian involvement and further damaged Putin's image in the West, already tarnished by accusations of democratic backsliding and human rights concerns. Kremlin allies have sought to counter that by suggesting the killing was masterminded by Putin's enemies abroad, such as Berezovsky.

Lugovoi and business associate Dmitry Kovtun met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day he said he fell ill. Radiation traces were found at several locations connected with the men, including the hotel bar where the meeting took place.

Both men were questioned in the presence of British investigators in Moscow in December, and British authorities last month requested Lugovoi's extradition. Putin called the request "stupidity."
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