'Kremlin behind poisoning'
2006-11-22 14:57
London - Mystery over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and fierce Kremlin critic deepened on Wednesday after contradictory reports about what exactly has left him fighting for his life in a London hospital, while the Kremlin has denied being involved.
Alexander Litvinenko, 43, is under police guard in intensive care as doctors try to pinpoint the substance with which he was poisoned shortly after he reportedly saw documents which named him as a potential target.
Hours before falling ill on November 1 Litvinenko met two Russian men for tea in a London hotel, before another rendezvous in a sushi restaurant with an Italian academic linked to an inquiry into Italian KGB activities.
Litvinenko's friends have dismissed any suggestion that academic Mario Scaramella was involved.
The Italian, who is reported to have given Litvinenko a document containing information on the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, said he showed him papers naming him as a possible target.
"We discussed some papers I received with alarming facts...in general we can take every day that he, me or other people working in this matter are at risk," he told Channel 4 News.
'Direct order from Putin'
Scaramella also told BBC radio that Litvinenko's work would have made him a dangerous figure for the Russian authorities.
"I can only imagine that the people who he worked against and we worked together against maybe decided to attack him.
"The quality of his work and the level of expertise of this man is so high that he can really represent a danger for them," he said.
Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who, like Litvinenko, is in exile in Britain, echoed these views, telling AFP: "For sure, it's the Kremlin who is behind that...Litvinenko is sure it was a direct order from Putin."
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations that it was involved in the case as "sheer nonsense".
As debate continues over the politics of the case, doctors treating Litvinenko are still attempting to pinpoint exactly what happened to him.
University College Hospital (UCH), where the former Federal Security Service (FSB) lieutenant-colonel is in a serious condition, said on Tuesday that thallium poisoning, initially thought to be the cause of his condition, was "unlikely".
Doctor Amit Nathwani added to reporters: "It is possible that he may not have been poisoned with thallium, although we cannot completely exclude this because of the timing of his presentation at our hospital".
He added it was possible that doctors may never know exactly what made him so ill and that he did not want to make an estimate of his survival chances.