LONDON (Sputnik) — There is no reason to reopen the inquest into the death of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, British judge Robert Owen, the chairman of the UK inquiry into the case, said Tuesday.
"Further to his statement on 21 January 2016, Sir Robert Owen has now confirmed his provisional view that there is no sufficient reason for the inquest to be reopened," Owen's office said in a statement.
On January 21, Owen released a report, claiming that Russian authorities were responsible for the 2006 killing of Litvinenko.
Litvinenko moved from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2000. He died in 2006, three weeks after drinking tea with Kovtun and Lugovoy in London.
Lugovoy has previously argued British experts ruled out his involvement in the murder after he had passed a lie detector test.
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the UK inquiry as politicized and lacking transparency, and said it would have an adverse effect on Moscow-London relations.
