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| Russia opens Litvinenko spy probe | Russia opens Litvinenko spy probe |
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| Russia has launched a spying case in connection with statements made by the man accused by the UK of killing former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. | Russia has launched a spying case in connection with statements made by the man accused by the UK of killing former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. |
| The Federal Security Service is behind the investigation into claims made by Andrei Lugovoi but no suspects have been named by the authorities. | The Federal Security Service is behind the investigation into claims made by Andrei Lugovoi but no suspects have been named by the authorities. |
| Mr Litvinenko died in London in November 2006 after exposure to the radioactive isotope polonium-210. | Mr Litvinenko died in London in November 2006 after exposure to the radioactive isotope polonium-210. |
| Diplomatic relations between London and Moscow have been strained by the case. | Diplomatic relations between London and Moscow have been strained by the case. |
| In May, Mr Lugovoi claimed that both Mr Litvinenko, 43, and Boris Berezovsky, a businessman now exiled in the UK who is an opponent of Vladimir Putin's government, has contacts with British foreign intelligence agency, MI6. | |
| In a statement, the FSB said it had opened a criminal investigation on suspicion of espionage on the basis of statements made by Mr Lugovoi, who met with Mr Litvinenko in London on the day he said he fell ill. | |
| KEY EVENTS IN CASE 1 November 2006: Alexander Litvinenko meets Andrei Lugovoi and another Russian at a London hotel 23 November 2006: Litvinenko dies in a London hospital24 November 2006: A Litvinenko statement accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death. Experts say Litvinenko was poisoned 6 December 2006: UK police say they are treating the death as murder 22 May 2007: Lugovoi should be charged with Litvinenko's murder, British prosecutors say 28 May 2007: UK makes formal request for Lugovoi's extradition from Russia Full timeline of events | |
| Previously Russia has said that it will refuse any extradition request for Mr Lugovoi. | Previously Russia has said that it will refuse any extradition request for Mr Lugovoi. |
| The UK's director of public prosecutions has recommended that Mr Lugovoi be tried for murder by "deliberate poisoning" and a formal extradition request has been submitted to the authorities in Moscow. | The UK's director of public prosecutions has recommended that Mr Lugovoi be tried for murder by "deliberate poisoning" and a formal extradition request has been submitted to the authorities in Moscow. |
| The request has been made under the 1957 Council of Europe European Convention on Extradition, of which Russia is a signatory. However, Russia does have the right, under Article 6, to refuse to extradite one of its nationals. | |
| On Thursday, Russian prosecutor-general Yuri Chayka was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying: "Extradition is out of the question, because it contradicts our constitution." | |
| President Putin previously described the request as "foolish". | |
| Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina, has dismissed Mr Lugovoi's claims that British secret services had a part in the death. | |
| She said her husband's case was different from anything that had happened before and Russia should reconsider its law over extraditions. |