Russian witness questioned

MOSCOW – A key witness in the poisoning death of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko was questioned Monday by British investigators in the Moscow hospital where he was undergoing radiation checks, Russian news reports said.

German authorities, meanwhile, found traces of polonium-210, the rare radioactive substance that killed Litvinenko, in locations visited by another Russian contact before a November 1 meeting with Litvinenko. Andrei Lugovoi, a security agent-turned-businessman who met with Litvinenko at a London hotel on November 1, the day Litvinenko suspected he was poisoned, was supposed to testify after a team of Scotland Yard officers arrived in Moscow on December 4, but British investigators were unable to interview him last week, British law enforcement officials said.Lugovoi finally spoke to investigators, telling the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies that the questioning lasted three hours.Lugovoi said the results of his medical tests would be known later this week but said he was “unlikely” to make them public.Nampa-APAndrei Lugovoi, a security agent-turned-businessman who met with Litvinenko at a London hotel on November 1, the day Litvinenko suspected he was poisoned, was supposed to testify after a team of Scotland Yard officers arrived in Moscow on December 4, but British investigators were unable to interview him last week, British law enforcement officials said.Lugovoi finally spoke to investigators, telling the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies that the questioning lasted three hours.Lugovoi said the results of his medical tests would be known later this week but said he was “unlikely” to make them public.Nampa-AP