Berezovksy to Be Interviewed By Russian Detectives

The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovksy has agreed to meet Russian detectives as part of their investigation into the murder of the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko - but only on the condition that they are frisked for poisons.

The team of Russian prosecutors arrived in London on Monday. Mr Berezovsky will meet them on Friday after they agreed to a series of conditions including being searched for "weapons and poisons" first.

The Russian investigators' visit comes two months after they first submitted a request to Scotland Yard to be allowed to carry out their own separate inquiry into the ex-agent's death. It follows a visit by British detectives to Moscow in December.

Speaking before flying to Britain, Alexander Zvyagintsev, the Russian deputy prosecutor, said his team planned to interview at least 100 people, including Mr Berezovsky, in Britain. "We have already reached an agreement with the UK," he added.

Mr Berezovsky - an arch critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin - confirmed he would meet Russian investigators on Friday.

He said he had "insisted" that the Russian team be searched for "weapons and poisons", and had also stipulated that the meeting should not take place inside Russia's London embassy.

Scotland Yard officers would pose questions submitted by Russian prosecutors, he said.

The Russian team would not be allowed to ask questions directly themselves, but could sit in on the interview - an identical arrangement to that used by the Russian authorities during Scotland Yard's visit to Russia in December.

"I agreed voluntarily to meet with the Russian investigators," Mr Berezovsky told the Guardian. "The reason I agreed to the meeting was because I do not want to give the Russian authorities any excuse at all to say that the UK did not co-operate and therefore they will not assist the UK.

"I believe 100% that the Russian authorities only opened this parallel investigation in order to obstruct and divert attention away from the Scotland Yard investigation."

The Chechen separatist leader, Akhmed Zakayev - whom Moscow wants to extradite, together with Mr Berezovsky - has also agreed to meet Russian prosecutors.

However, Litvenenko's widow, Marina, and his close friend Alex Goldfarb have both declined a similar request, it emerged today.

Russian prosecutors also plan to visit several locations linked to the murder of Litvinenko, who was believed to have been poisoned with a huge dose of the radioactive polonium-210 on November 1.

He died in hospital three weeks later, after apparently accusing Mr Putin, on his deathbed, of being responsible. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

British police travelled to Moscow in December and were present during the questioning of Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, two Russian businessmen who had met Litvinenko in London hours before he fell ill on November 1.

Both men deny any involvement in Litvinenko's death. Mr Kovtun was treated in hospital in Moscow for suspected radiation poisoning in December, but has since said he intends to travel to Germany to give investigators there a statement.

No additional interviews by British investigators in Russia were expected.

Litvinenko, once an agent in the KGB and its successor, the Federal Security Service or FSB, was granted asylum in Britain after accusing his superiors of ordering him to kill Mr Berezovsky.

He also alleged that the Russian security services had been behind a series of bomb explosions in 1999.

British police have sent a file on the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will decide whether any charges will be filed in connection with Litvinenko's death. The police inquiry is still continuing.