British detectives were in Moscow yesterday to continue their investigation into the mysterious poisoning death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, as diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia rose closer to the surface.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that "a team of officers" had arrived in Moscow, but could not say how many had made the trip, or how long they planned to stay.
According to the Guardian daily, the officers were to interview the three Russian men who met Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day he fell ill, about three weeks before he eventually died. They will also interview two men whose names have not yet appeared publicly, the newspaper said.
The trio -- businessmen Andrei Lugovoi, Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko -- have all asserted that they are innocent, and Lugovoi has said that he believes they are being framed.
Meanwhile, lawyers for jailed former Federal Security Service (FSB) agent, and acquaintance of Litvinenko, Mikhail Trepashkin, have said he has key evidence in the case, and have urged the detectives in Moscow to meet with their client.
The Times reported yesterday that British intelligence officers are convinced that the Russian secret service authorized Litvinenko's poisoning, citing unnamed security sources.
According to the report, only officials such as agents of the FSB would have access to sufficient amounts of the radioactive substance polonium-210 to kill Litvinenko. The former agent's urine was found to have large unexplained quantities of the isotope.
Meanwhile, one room in the British embassy in Moscow is to be tested for radiation "in the next day or so," a spokesman for the British foreign ministry said on Monday.
He described the tests as "precautionary."
In Britain, authorities extended their search for radioactive material to two more buildings in central London -- in addition to the dozen or so that have already been examined -- the Health Protection Agency said.
The political fall-out over the investigation into Litvinenko's death has also seemingly strained relations between London and Moscow, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying on Monday that it was "unacceptable that a campaign should be whipped up with the participation of officials."
In what some suspect to be a related case of poisoning, former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar was released from the hospital on Monday, after having been stricken with an unexplained illness 10 days ago, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting his spokesman.
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