In an interview with the Russia Today television Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun have denied the claims they were suspects in the Litvinenko case, saying the British police have questioned them only as witnesses.

Russia Today: The recent publications in the British media describe you as suspects and not witnesses in the Litvinenko case. How can you comment on this?

Andrei Lugovoi: The allegations by the British media are not simply unfounded, they are a lie, pure and simple. I was and I still am a witness in this case. When the Scotland Yard representatives were in Moscow, they stressed that I am a witness. And no announcement has been made about any change of my status ever since. I stress that I remain a witness in the Litvinenko case, and all the rest is a lie.

RT: Mr Kovtun, some British media also quote the former KGB agent Gordievsky who claims you were accompanied by an identified Asiatic man when you arrived to London. What can you say in this respect?

Dmitry Kovtun: I’ve heard about this version. But exclusively for your channel I am going to break the news: I was not alone. Apart from me and the crew, there were some 15 to 20 other passengers. It’s quite possible there was a man of Asian descent. But if, according to the British press reports, this Asian man landed in Heathrow airport, all the rest of the passengers, including myself, arrived at Gatwick. As for Oleg Gordievsky, all of what he says is nonsense. The only reliable source can be Scotland Yard. But the investigation didn’t issue any statement. Everything that Gordievsky shares with the British media he reads in Dutch and German newspapers, and he admitted it himself in one of his interviews.

RT: Mr Lugovoy, when the Litvinenko scandal broke you were immediately hospitalised and then treated in a Russian hospital. Can you comment on the present condition of your health and on the findings of these health inspections?

A.L.: Indeed, when the whole story started, I voluntarily approached a Russian hospital for a health examination. As far as my health is concerned, it is quite normal, stable and satisfactory. I’m not willing to say more as my health is currently the subject of the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General’s office. The criminal case, as far as I know, has been initiated to investigate a murder attempt against Dmitry Kovtun.

D.K.: I feel satisfactory. The only thing I want to say, during that period, when the criminal case was started, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office had all the reasons to initiate a criminal case. Health examinations are still underway, I continue to have examinations at the same clinic where I used to do it previously, but now I do it on an out-patient basis.

RT: Mr Lugovoy, according to some British papers, the Scotland Yard investigators were not satisfied with the level of co-operation provided by the Russian party. Did the Scotland Yard investigators have enough time and opportunity to learn everything they wanted to know?

A.L.: Good question. This description of our encounters with the British police representatives genuinely surprises me. This is a lie; this doesn’t match the facts, the reality. First, the British investigators met us several times, and our meetings lasted hours. I believe they had time and opportunity to ask every single question they wanted. Some newspapers say the investigators could only meet us for 15-20 minutes each time; this isn’t true. I can give you an example. The questioning of my wife, also considered a witness in this case, took them more than 10 hours. If they claim they couldn’t question me as they wanted, I wonder, where this information comes from and why it is published.

RT: Mr Kovtun, the British investigators are currently applying for an opportunity to come back to Russia to interview both you and Mr Lugovoy for the second time. Are you going to take part in this questioning again?

D.K.: We understand perfectly well that full co-operation with the British investigation is in our own interests. We are pretty much interested in its progress. We want it to shed light on what happened to us. This is why we are of course ready to co-operate with the investigators, but in the framework of Russian law. As far as I understand, the General Prosecutor’s Office didn’t try to prevent their work in any way, didn’t hamper it. There were some conditions, related to the law. But there were attempts — not from us, not from the Prosecutor’s office — to hamper the investigation.

RT: If it were decided to invite you to the United Kingdom once again, would you agree to come back to London to help the investigation?

D.K.: We will think about this. I am not ready to give any answer. The answer will come later, it will depend on where the investigation gets, of what we will be accused, and whether we will be charged at all. We will consult our lawyers, and we will take the decision.

A.L.: Like one of my friends says, never say never.

Popularity: 2% [?]