MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. The conclusions which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) drew over the death of former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Alexander Litvinenko are unfounded, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
When commenting on the court's statement that Russia "failed to provide any other satisfactory and convincing explanation of the events or counter the findings of the UK inquiry," Peskov pointed out that "the ECHR is unlikely to have the authority or technological abilities to have information on the matter."
"There are still no results from the investigation, so it is at least unfounded to make such allegations," he noted, adding: "We aren't ready to listen to such rulings."
On September 21, the ECHR published a ruling on the case, saying that "the Russian authorities had not carried out an effective domestic investigation capable of leading to the establishment of the facts and, where appropriate, the identification and punishment of those responsible for the murder." According to the court, "a public inquiry in the UK found that the assassination had been carried out by a certain Mr Lugovoy and a Mr Kovtun, who had been acting on behalf of someone else." "The Court also dismissed the Russian Government’s objection to the use of the UK public inquiry report as evidence. It found that, as the inquiry had met the requirements of independence, fairness and transparency," the statement says.
The court ruled that Russia was to pay 100,000 euro to the applicant, Litvinenko’s widow, in respect of non-pecuniary damage and another 22,500 euro for costs and expenses.
Litvinenko, who had earlier been granted asylum in the UK, died in London on November 23, 2006. Forensic analysis showed that his death had been caused by Polonium 210, a radioactive isotope. However, the circumstances of his death have not been fully established yet. Moscow believes that London's activities to investigate the case are politically motivated.