RUSSIAN FOREIGN Minister Sergei Lavrov made light of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between London and Moscow in Lisbon on Friday.
Speaking at a meeting of the Middle East Quartet for Peace involving Russia, the United States, European Union and United Nations, the foreign minister said he wanted to restore normal ties with the UK as soon as possible.
Mutual respect
Sergei Lavrov said he believed diplomatic relations with London were based on “mutual respect for each other’s interests and common sense.”
The comments were made after diplomatic expulsions in the wake of Russia’s refusal to extradite former spy and Russian hit man Andrei Lugovoi to the United Kingdom to face charges of murdering ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko because it was “not allowed in the Russian constitution.”
Andrei Lugovoi has always publicly expressed his innocence and has accused British secret services of being involved in Litvinenko’s death.
Legal issue
The United Kingdom made a formal request for Lugovoi’s extradition to London on May 28, 2007.
Mr Lavrov dismissed claims that the Russian government had stopped cooperating with Britain in the fight against terrorism as a reprisal for the expulsions.
“This is a legal issue and not a political problem” said United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Lisbon.
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