LONDON, November 7 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian citizen Dmitry Kovtun said in an interview with the London weekly Sunday Times that he has no connection with the death of Litvinenko.

If the British authorities suddenly bring charges against him after such a long time, it proves that the case is politically motivated, he noted.

"If they have evidence against me, why did not they bring charges five years ago?" he stressed.

Kovtun noted he had heard that Scotland Yard recently presented new evidence to the British Crown Prosecution Service, on the basis of which charges might be brought against the second suspect, and it could be linked to him.

Kovtun said he intended to arrive in London to testify over the death of Litvinenko. "Naturally, I will not go now, if charges are brought against me," he said.

A London police representative said on Sunday that the publications about the preparation of the request by British prosecutors to extradite Russian citizen Dmitry Kovtun were based on speculations until the Prosecution Service took a corresponding decision.