Interfax's Interview

 "We have encountered the Litvinenko case, or rather the Lugovoi case, although it would be more correct to call it the Berezovsky case," he said.

 "It is absolutely clear that Alexander Litvinenko was working for Boris Berezovsky and simultaneously playing his own game. This is the most probable reason for his murder. It is also quite possible that it was an accident, not premeditated killing," Kovalyov said.

 "Lugovoi told a press conference in May that British secret services had recruited Berezovsky. It is not up to us to judge this statement. Yet Russian law enforcers have many other questions for Berezovsky," he said.

 "He was charged with the embezzlement and laundering of 214 million rubles from Aeroflot. Several days ago the Russian Prosecutor General's Office indicted Berezovsky for embezzling $13 million from SBS-Agro. The Moscow Basmanny Court ordered the seizure of Berezovsky's villa on the Cote D'Azur," Kovalyov said.

 "Meanwhile, Berezovsky is peacefully living in London and enjoying the status of a political emigrant. He is freely visited by leaders of our opposition and radical parties and asked for financing. The British secret services do not have to hunt for recruits - they are right there, visiting with Berezovsky," he said.

 As for a possible way out of the deadlock in the Russia-UK relations, which is rooted in the “Berezovsky-Litvinenko-Lugovoi case,” Kovalyov said, “First of all, we should calm down and soberly assess the situation. Both countries have national laws. It is another question if the domestic laws are good or bad. They must be obeyed just the same. I think it would be useful for the UK to know that the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office received over 200 applications from foreign states for the prosecution of Russian citizens. Sentences have been pronounced in 98 criminal cases, courts are hearing another 20, while the rest are under investigation.”

 “Hence, I have a question: why cannot the UK present the Lugovoi materials to Russian law enforcers? If these materials contain sufficient evidence, Russian law enforcers may open a criminal case,” he said.

 “It would be silly and senseless to demand that Russia must amend the constitution. One more thing. The intelligence services, the British intelligence in this case, must take care of its area – intelligence. Let politicians and diplomats do the politics. In that case, everything will be all right,” Kovalyov said.

 Kovalyov criticized the British Council activity in Russia.

 "This is a non-profit organization, which officially has a non-governmental status. Formally, it declares its goal to be cooperation in science, culture and education. But what is really happening? The organization is actively promoting the resettlement of Russia's promising young professionals by sending them to the UK for studies. We saw from the recruitment of a Russian citizen in 2000 that it was not a problem to get in touch with the British secret services through the British Council," he said.

 Commenting on the general state of Russian-British relations, Kovalyov said, “Certainly, it is a long way to the cold war, but I would not go so far as to call these relations warm. The most unpleasant of all is that the routine work of secret services is influencing interstate political relations. This should not happen, as this is highly unprofessional. Millions of people of both countries, who are nervously watching the exchange of diplomatic statements and speeches by the chiefs of state, have been involved in ‘the spy dispute.’

  “Average citizens are unaware of diplomatic intricacies. They are simply hearing tough statements on certain sanctions, expulsion of embassy employees and denials of entry visas. All these things cause rumors and unfounded fears. Why do the British secret services create mutual mistrust and tensions? Such actions are impermissible. It is quite possible to call them provocative,” he said.

 “In fact, nothing terrible is happening. The disputes will have little impact on the average citizen of Russia and the UK,” Kovalyov said.

 “For instance, limits on the issue of entry visas are applicable only to the personnel of governmental agencies, while tourists and businessmen are still being catered to by consular services. But I would like to emphasize that the current situation derives from British secret services’ assumption of an uncharacteristic function – influencing the activity of state institutions,” he said.

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