Russia's top prosecutor says his country will try the chief suspect in the radiation poisoning death of a former Moscow intelligence agent, if Britain supplies enough proof for a case.
Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika says he told his British counterpart Peter Goldsmith he will launch proceedings against Andrei Lugovoi if Russian investigators determine there is sufficient evidence for such action.
British prosecutors Tuesday announced they have enough evidence to charge Lugovoi with poisoning Alexander Litvinenko and moved to seek Lugovoi's extradition. Russian authorities say their country's constitution prohibits extraditing citizens.
Lugovoi Wednesday proclaimed his innocence and called the British charges politically motivated.
The British announcement followed a six-month probe into Litvinenko's death from radiation poisoning November 23.
British police determined that Litvinenko met with Lugovoi and another Russian businessman at a London hotel November 1 - the day Litvinenko fell ill.
At the hotel, investigators also found traces of the radioactive material that killed Litvinenko.
In a letter on his deathbed, Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having ordered his poisoning. The Kremlin denies any involvement.
