MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) – The UK, the United States, or Israel may be responsible for the death of former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Alexander Litvinenko, his brother Maxim said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.
"It could have been the English, the Israelis, the Americans. Why would British secret services want my brother dead? To build public opinion against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Maxim Litvinenko said.
He explained that his brother had planned to return to Russia. Due to the fact that he “knew all sorts of things” about Russian dissidents, granted asylum in London, his return could "make the British and Americans uncomfortable." At the same time, the Russian intelligence services had no reason to eliminate the former FSB officer.
"He didn’t do spying. He did not know any state secrets. He had a simple job. The state were not interested in him," Maxim said.
He also said that Litvinenko allegedly had strained relationship with his wife Marina.
The widow of Alexander Litvinenko, however, denied these statements.
“Why has he changed his mind? He was not here, he was not part of our life in London. I am really sad he is saying this. Almost 80 percent of what he is saying is lies,” Marina said.
On Tuesday, UK Home Secretary Theresa May has agreed to hold a public inquiry on the Litvinenko case, while previously she denied this, saying that there has been sufficient inquiry in the case of Litvinenko's death. The first hearing of the proceedings will be held on July 31. At the same time, the question of guilt of the British side in failing to prevent Litvinenko's death has been excluded from the materials of investigation.
Former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko died on November 23, 2006, after being poisoned by highly radioactive polonium-210. It happened soon after a meeting with his former colleagues Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, when they shared tea in a London hotel Millennium.
