Britain will press Russia at this week's G8 summit on the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, his widow said Sunday, citing a letter from Foreign Secretary David Miliband. In a letter to Marina Litvinenko, Miliband said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would take up the case with new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Brown and Medvedev will hold disussions on the sidelines during the three days of annual talks between leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, which kick off Monday in the Japanese mountain resort town of Toyako. Medvedev called Thursday for a repair of relations between the two countries, saying he was prepared to "seek compromise", provided Britain was too.
However, the British government still has "grave concerns" over the 2006 murder of Litvinenko, which plunged relations between London and Moscow into a post-Cold War chill, the letter said.
"The government continues to have grave concerns about the murder of your late husband and we have raised the matter at every level. We welcome the level of support received from EU partners and others," said the letter dated June 18. "We take every opportunity to raise this with the Russian authorities; most recently I raised it with Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov when we met in London on May 1.
"My officials are currently working with the Russian government to identify the topics for discussion at the G8 summit meeting in July.
"But I can assure you that the prime minister takes your late husband's case seriously and that this matter and its consequences will feature in his discussions with President Medvedev at the summit. "We want to work with Russia on areas of common interest where we believe we can enhance the UK's security and economic well-being. "But we do not shy away from difficult issues. This is why we will continue to seek justice for your husband in a British court."
Contacted by AFP, the Foreign Office said it did not comment on private correspondence.
Litvinenko died in a London hospital in November 2006 due to extreme radiation poisoning. Russia refuses to extradite former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi, the only suspect. In a statement, Marina Litvinenko warned: "If Mr Medvedev has in mind that the British position on the Litvinenko case would weaken in exchange for Russia stopping harassment of the British Council and British Petroleum, he will get nowhere.