Lugovoi does not rule out link between Arafat, Litvinenko deaths
MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - If Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's poisoning with Polonium-210 is confirmed, an international inquiry should be launched with due account taken of former Federal Security Service officer Alexander Litvinenko's death in London in 2006, lawmaker Andrei Lugovoi told Interfax on Wednesday.
"If proof is provided that Yasser Arafat was poisoned with polonium an international probe should be launched. Concurrently, one must take due account of Alexander Litvinenko's death in 2006. I think the presence of polonium in both cases is extremely important," Lugovoi, who is accused in Britain of playing a role in Litvinenko's death, said on Wednesday.
The time of the events is interesting, too, he said. Arafat died in November 2004 and Litvinenko in November 2006, Lugovoi said.
"I have said on many occasions that neither Russia, nor I were involved in Litvinenko's death. I continue to insist that an independent international investigation should be conducted into Litvinenko's death," he said, adding that "the British side's decision not to disclose the cause of Litvinenko's death" is not accidental.
Asked whether there is a link between Arafat's and Litvinenko's deaths, he said, "Nothing is impossible. But this is my private opinion. If the truth is to be established a serious investigation must be conducted. Arafat definitely did not do Russia any harm," he said.
