Litvinenko widow presses new Russian president

LONDON (AFP) - The widow of the former KGB agent who died from radioactive poisoning in London urged new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday to do more to bring his killers to justice.

Marina Litvinenko, whose husband Alexander died in a London hospital in November 2006, triggering a severe chill between London and Moscow, said the new Russian leader had a duty to help her.

"Mr. President, today there is no bigger stain on the reputation of the Russian state than my husband's murder," she said in a statement.

"You have an opportunity to reveal the secret of this crime to the world, to name the instigators and the perpetrators, and to close this dark page of Russian history."

Relations between Britain and Russia were severely strained under Medvedev's predecessor Vladimir Putin, who rejected British requests to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, wanted over the Litvinenko case.

His widow added: "This would let you distance yourself from the legacy of the previous regime and to begin your reign from a clean slate.

"If you do not do it, all predictions of your lack of independence would unfortunately be confirmed. You would become a hostage of the people who committed a barbarian act of terror."

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