British Ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton said in an interview published on Sunday that he wouldn't use the word "crisis" to label the current British-Russian row sparked by a spy-poisoning case.
"We have a booming economic relationship, closer and closer ties between our peoples, and a growing record of close cooperation on a range of international issues... Where we differ sharply at the moment is over the Litvinenko affair," Interfax quoted him as saying.
Moscow and London announced earlier this month to expel four diplomats from each other's embassy, escalating disputes over the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, a main suspect in the poisoning case of former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Britain has asked Russia to hand over Lugovoi, who was accused of murdering Litvinenko in London last November while Russia insisted that the businessman and also former secret agent should be on trial in Russia due to its constitution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said last Thursday that such disputes was only "mini-crisis" and Russian-British relations will develop normally.
Both Russia and Britain were interested in developing bilateral relations, "but any actions should be matched with common sense. The legal rights and interests of partners should be respected, and then everything will take the best course," Putin was quoted as saying.
"We are not asking Russia to violate its own constitution, but to work with us creatively to find a way around this impediment, given the serious and unprecedented nature of this murder." said Brenton.
Source: Xinhua
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