Russia, UK in fresh Berezovsky row

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Russia on Thursday demanded Britain explain the arrest in London of a man suspected of being involved in a plot to murder Russian tycoon and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on www.mid.ru that it had summoned British Ambassador Tony Brenton.

"He was told that the Russian side expects an official explanation about the recent reports in the British media about a person of Russian origin who was supposedly arrested in London on suspicion of planning to kill B. Berezovsky," it said.

Berezovsky, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said this month British police had warned him in June of a plot to kill him.

Police confirmed they had arrested a man on June 21 in connection with a plot to kill Berezovsky but released him two days later without charge, handing him to immigration officials.

British-Russian ties have sunk to the lowest level since the fall of the Soviet Union after a row over whether to extradite a Russian man suspected of murdering emigre Alexander Litvinenko with a rare radioactive isotope in London last year.

Britain expelled four Russian diplomats this month, provoking a tit-for-tat expulsion of four British diplomats from Moscow, after Russia refused to extradite businessman Andrei Lugovoy to stand trial in London for Litvinenko's murder.

Russia's constitution forbids the extradition of its own citizens.

Both countries have said they do not want trade ties worth billions of dollars to suffer.

But the row has exacerbated a series of long-running irritants, including Britain's harboring of a group of vociferous Russian emigres who oppose Putin.

Berezovsky, who was granted political asylum in Britain in 2003, told reporters on July 18 that the man suspected of being involved in an attempt on his life was deported to Russia.

That could not be confirmed at the time with British police and interior ministry officials.

Russia's Foreign Ministry questioned why Moscow had not been informed.

"If the British side has any evidence of the person's criminal intent and if he really was a Russian then a question arises: Why did British law enforcement agencies deport a man suspected of intent to commit a crime but not inform the Russian authorities or even tell them his name?" the ministry said.

"The Russian side continues to insist on an exhaustive explanation of this matter and guarantees that such actions by the British authorities do not create a threat to the security of Russian citizens," it said.

Berezovsky has said the plot had all the hallmarks of being planned by the Russian security services, whom he blames for carrying out Litvinenko's murder.

A former scientist, Berezovsky built a fortune as the Soviet Union collapsed and rose to influence under former President Boris Yeltsin. He fled Russia after falling foul of the Kremlin under Putin. E-mail to a friend

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