Russia expelled four British diplomats Thursday and suspended cooperation in fighting terrorism with Britain, following London's expulsions of Russians, amid a bitter row over Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the murder of former security officer Alexander Litvinenko, a British national.
Ministry Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement that cooperation against terrorism was impossible as London "has said it is suspending all kinds of partnership with the FSB [Federal Security Service], the body that spearheads Russia's antiterrorism efforts."
British prosecutors have charged multi-millionaire businessman Andrei Lugovoi, a former Kremlin bodyguard, with poisoning Litvinenko with a radioactive polonium isotope at a London hotel in November. Lugovoi denies the charges, and Russia says its Constitution does not allow for the extradition of its nationals.
European countries and the United States have backed London in the dispute, urging Russia to extradite the suspect.
President Vladimir Putin, speaking after a meeting with Hungarian and Finish leaders in the Russian Republic of Mordovia Thursday, played down the dispute with London, calling it a "mini-crisis".
"I am sure that Russian-British relations will develop in an appropriate way... Both Russia and Britain are interested in boosting their cooperation," Putin said.
Russia's foreign minister said earlier that London had failed to set out its case against Lugovoi.
"We have still not been provided with the [Litvinenko] case files and do not know what exactly prompted British prosecutors to charge him [Lugovoi], and obviously we cannot violate our laws, just as Britain cannot violate its laws," Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov also suggested that the British measures were a "test of strength" by the country's new Cabinet. "In many respects, it is a new-government factor," he said, adding that Prime Minister Gordon Brown could eventually find an appropriate tone in dealing with Russia.
