Question: Could you describe the relationship between the UK and Russia in the wake of a public inquiry that found that serving FSB officers were involved in his poisoning?

Sergey Lavrov: As a journalist, you should formulate your questions more carefully. You’ve asked, if I understood your English correctly, about relations between Russia and Britain in light of the conclusions of the inquiry that has established the FSB’s involvement in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

I’d say that you went even further than Sir Robert Owen, a retired High Court judge, who, when reading his conclusions, has not made a single statement that was not accompanied by the words “possible,” “probable” or “it appears that.” I believe the media should at least accurately quote your legal representatives.

Sir Robert Owen’s statement was full of “possibles” and “probables.” He even said that there was open evidence that established a strong circumstantial case (against the Russian State). I consider this to be unprecedented in the legal practice, at least in a case that was allegedly investigated without bias or prejudice. Very serious accusations have been made against top Russian leaders without any evidence whatsoever. The report’s conclusions are based on the testimony of selected witnesses such as Mr Alex Goldfarb, who even is mistrusted by many Britons, or on secret evidence that was both provided and received by completely unidentified individuals.

The inquest that was opened by a coroner in 2011 was based exclusively on facts rather than speculation. Russia’s Investigative Committee provided assistance in that inquest. It went on until 2014, when the inquest was suspended along with a procedure that had been based on facts and in which the Russian Investigative Committee could participate in full, openly and in all parts of the inquest without exception. But this is probably the reason why that inquest was stopped and a so-called public inquiry began. In this case, the word “public” is misleading, because, if I’m not wrong, some key elements of a case may be kept secret in a public inquiry. And this is exactly what happened. The conclusions of Sir Robert Owen run counter to so many facts that it’s strange that serious media outlets, as well as politicians, quote him. But politicians are politicians. We’ve heard what Prime Minister David Cameron and other cabinet members have said on this issue. We especially enjoyed it when Mr Cameron said: “What happened was absolutely appalling and this report confirms what we've always believed.”

This is like what our American colleagues said about the Malaysian Boeing’s crash over Ukraine. They said they would wait for the Dutch Safety Board’s final report although they knew who did it anyway. The logic is definitely the same in the Boeing crash and in the Litvinenko case. Why are the results of Litvinenko’s autopsy classified? Why were the requests filed by Litvinenko’s former wife, his brother and father for his exhumation and a second autopsy disregarded? Why didn’t they honour this request? We have similar questions regarding the Malaysian Boeing investigation. The British law and the Dutch board have no answers to them. At the same time, it’s a fact, which the investigation has not overturned, that Andrei Lugovoi brought his son to the meeting with Litvinenko at which Lugovoi allegedly poisoned Litvinenko. There is no explanation why a man would subject his children to such danger. There is also ample testimony on the air by people from Boris Berezovsky’s team, who are speaking about very interesting facts, which the investigation has completely disregarded. To say nothing of the causes of the death of Boris Berezovsky and bar owner David West, which we are unlikely to be ever known, and many other mysteries. I’d say in this situation that if a smart lawyer took up this case and analysed all the facts and all the statements that have been made by British leaders, we would have a very strong case for filing a libel suit. There is sufficient material for this.

You’ve asked me about the future of Russo-British relationship. We would like the British authorities to objectively investigate the increasing number of deaths of Russian citizens, which are not recalled 10 years after the fact but are simply forgotten several months later, and about which we don’t receive any information at all.

The only thing I agree with is the UK Foreign Office statement that the Litvinenko case “would further complicate bilateral relations.” But it’s not the Litvinenko case, but the farce over it that will, for sure, seriously complicate our relations, and there is nothing “possible,” “probable” or “likely” about this.