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U.S. Called On Moscow Not to Respond Tit-for-Tat
“We support the UK's extradition request and believe strongly that the Russians should do the right thing here and respond to it favorably and comply with it,” deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said yesterday. Casey called on Russia to meet the request of Britain and to extradite Andrey Lugovoy, the prime suspect in polonium murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
As to Russia’s decision to suspend counterterrorism operation with Britain in addition to the diplomatic tit-for-tat, Casey emphasized that Russia “is under threat of terrorism as much as any other country in the world” and it “needs to be a full and cooperative partner with the United States, with the United Kingdom and with other international actors in that fight.”
Nowadays, the relations between London and Moscow are obviously in the deep freeze and the concern of these two states is to attract supporters worldwide. As the Kremlin has no chances whatsoever to strip Britain of the U.S. backup, Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov has attempted to lure Germany, which leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel have been rather reserved in commenting on Britain’s extradition demand for Lugovoy and on its aftereffects.
Russia’s explanation of the conflict is also interesting. According to Lavrov, the aggravation of relations with Britain could be blamed on the rise to power of new cabinet there. “I’m sure the government [of Great Britain] will get accustomed, find itself and start working for the benefit of Britain’s nation and, I do hope, for the benefit of Russia-Britain’s relations,” RIA Novosti quoted Lavrov as saying during the news conference after the sitting of Mideast Quartet in Lisbon.
www.kommersant.com
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