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Russia has warned that its relation with Britain could further deteriorate after a British government' s inquiry said that President Vladimir Putin might play a role in the death of a former Russian spy in London.
According to the report of a British public inquiry released Thursday, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was "deliberately poisoned" and his murder was "probably approved" by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In response to the British report, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova refuted the allegations, saying that Britain's handling of the case was "opaque" and "politicized.
An outspoken critic of Putin, Litvinenko died at a London hotel in 2006 at the age of 43, after drinking green tea reportedly laced with the deadly radioactive polonium.
He fled to Britain in 2000 and became a British citizen in 2006.
The British report said Litvinenko's former colleagues Dmitry Kovtun and Andrey Lugovoy deliberately poisoned Litvinenko with polonium-210.
It is said the agent died three weeks after meeting with Kovtun and Lugovoy in London, and British authorities then suspected the two of poisoning Litvinenko with the radioactive isotope.
A public inquiry into Litvinenko's death was formally established by the British government in July 2014.
Lugovoy on Friday said in a TV show that he would not leave Russia or go to court to clear his name.
"I don't intend to do that, because if I go into that, it means I will attach importance to what the British are doing," he said.
Lugovoy have said that he had passed a polygraph test conducted by British experts, which proves that he was not guilty of murdering the former FSB agent.
Kovtun, currently a businessman, said that the Russian side continued its own investigation of the case.
The British side, however, refused to accept relevant documents provided by the Russian Investigative Committee, Lugovoy added.
A lawmaker of the lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, Lugovoy said the British report only proved "London's anti-Russian stance, narrow-mindedness and reluctance to establish the true cause of Litvinenko's death."
"The case has became a convenient way for London to achieve its political interests," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Lugovoy as saying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday night called Britain's move as "quasi-investigation," warning of further damage to Russia-UK relations.
"I'm saying 'quasi-investigation' because we cannot accept it as an investigation, as it is based on certain assumptions, on probability. The words 'possibly,' 'probably' are used ...we can certainly not consider this a verdict," Peskov told reporters.
Right after the British report was published, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused London of attempting to smear Russian leadership and officials.
"There was no reason to expect that the final report of politically engaged and highly non-transparent (investigation) process, which result was predetermined beforehand, could be objective and impartial," said her statement posted online.
"We regret that a purely criminal case was politicized and marred the general atmosphere of bilateral relations," she said, adding the incident sets a dangerous precedent for using internal legal mechanisms for political goals.
Zakharova underscored that Russia is interested in an impartial investigation into the death of Litvinenko, as well as other Russians who have died in the UK.
Zakharova added that Moscow would give a thorough assessment of the UK inquiry report after studying the text in detail.
Russian Ambassador to Britain Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko also said the case was a blatant provocation by the British authorities aimed to exert additional pressure on the Russian leadership over various international issues.
"For us it is absolutely unacceptable that the report concludes that the Russian state was in any way involved in the death of Litvinenko on British soil," Yakovenko said after being summoned to the British Foreign Office on Thursday.
"We also noted that the British government suspended the coroner's inquest, which was open to the public and the press also with the participation of the Investigative Committee of Russia as an interested party, but started a public inquiry instead, which in fact is secret, at the height of the political tension with Russia over Ukraine in July 2014."
There are Russian analysts doubting that the Litvinenko case was used by the British side for purely political reasons and out of Russophobia sentiment.
They also expressed their concerns that current Moscow-London diplomatic row might partly resulted from tensions between Russia and the West over Syrian and Ukrainian crises.
The case was used by the West to maintain or even add more restrictive measures against Russia, State Duma member Vyacheslav Nikonov has said.
It could also reflect western countries' real intentions over international issues like Syrian crisis, whether they want to further cooperate with Russia or not, according to Nikonov.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said after the inquiry report was released that Britain would be "toughening" up its reactions against Russia.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said he "certainly wouldn't rule out any relevant future steps" by the U.S. toward Russia over the report.
Meanwhile, Cameron said Saturday in an interview with Al Jazeera that strained relations between London and Moscow should not hinder the Syrian peaceful settlement dialogues.
