From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/21/2007 3:55 AM
Saturday 21st July 2007
From Russia with no love
British ministers were braced for a tit-for-tat response by Russia after expelling four Russian diplomats from London in protest at the refusal of President Vladimir Putin to allow the extradition of the chief suspect wanted for the murder of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.
The row plunged Britain into one of its worst diplomatic crises with Russia since the end of the Cold War and threatens to disrupt British business with Russia, worth billions of pounds.
They were the first expulsions since 1996, when four Russian diplomats were ordered out of Britain in a spying row, but there was no suggestion that any of the Russian diplomats expelled now were involved in the Litvinenko case or in spying. British ministers sought to avoid worsening the diplomatic fall-out, which comes at a time when activists backed by the Russian authorities have been harassing the British ambassador in Moscow and the British Council.
The decision was reached after lengthy discussions within the Government and among EU allies. The Government insists that because of the need to punish the perpetrators of such a unique crime, the expulsions are a "clear and proportionate response" to Russia's refusal to extradite the suspect, Andrei Lugovoy.
Russian authorities, who point out that Mr Lugovoy cannot be extradited for trial for constitutional reasons, reacted with fury. "They should understand well in London that the provocative actions conceived by the British authorities will not go unanswered and cannot fail to produce the most serious consequences for Russian-British relations as a whole," a Foreign Ministry spokes-man, Mikhail Kamynin, said.
Sources close to the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "He didn't rush into this. It has involved a lot of careful thought."
Gordon Brown said that he wanted "the best relations" with Russia and was "sad" that Russian co-operation had not been forthcoming.
There was all-party unity at Westminster over the action, and the American under-secretary, Nicholas Burns, said the US "will stand behind the UK''. In Westminster, it was seen as a symbol of the "moral compass" being used by the Prime Minister after the departure of Tony Blair.
To intensify the pressure on the Putin administration, Mr Miliband said Britain was shelving a reform under negotiation with Russia to fast-track Russian visa applications for diplomats and to speed up the issue of visas for tourists and businessmen. Extra scrutiny will also be applied to visa applications -- with applications from government officials likely to be examined even more closely.
Britain will seek to arrest and extradite Mr Lugovoy if he travels abroad to a third country, the Foreign Secretary warned. -- Colin Brown and Anne Penketh http://www.independentweekly.com.au/?article_id=10224482
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