MOSCOW, December 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian and British investigators have begun questioning witnesses in the case of Russian security service defector Alexander Litvinenko's death in London, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday.
British investigators arrived Monday to interview people who met with Litvinenko around the time of his reported radioactive poisoning in early November.
Dmitry Kovtun, a business partner of key witness Andrei Lugovoi, was questioned Tuesday, Lugovoi's lawyer, Andrei Romashov, said. Kovtun met with Litvinenko on the day he fell ill.
A source close to Lugovoi, a businessmen and former officer of the federal guards service, said earlier that investigators might not be able to question the key witness, who is still undergoing medical checks.
U.S. TV channel ABC News said Wednesday, citing an unidentified British official, that investigators were treating Lugovoi as the main suspect in the November 23 death by radiation poisoning of Litvinenko, who defected from Russia in 2000 and was known as an outspoken Kremlin opponent.
Romashov said his client will be questioned only as a witness, possibly December 7 or 8.
"The British Embassy has told us [the defense team], and Scotland Yard experts have informed Lugovoi, that he will only be questioned as a witness," he said, adding that doctors have allowed Lugovoi to be questioned.
"He is undergoing examination in the hospital in the wake of recent events. He is worried for his life," Romashov said.
Lugovoi told The Times and The Daily Telegraph last week that he and two of his business partners met with Litvinenko in London November 1, the day the former security officer, a British national, is believed to have received a fatal dose of radioactive polonium-210.
Traces of radiation have been detected in the hotel rooms in London where Lugovoi stayed in October and November, and on the airliners in which he flew to the UK, the popular Russian daily Kommersant said Wednesday.
ABC also claimed Russian authorities have hindered British investigators' efforts in Moscow.
Russia's top prosecutor Yury Chaika said Tuesday Lugovoi might be questioned if doctors give their permission. He said Scotland Yard detectives will not be allowed to arrest and extradite Russian suspects who may emerge in the case, as it would contradict the Russian Constitution.
He also said any interviews of suspects in Scotland Yard's investigation will be carried out by Russian prosecutors.
