Friend says he knows who poisoned former Soviet spy

POSTED: 4:35 p.m. EST, December 3, 2006

LONDON, England (AP) -- A U.S.-based friend of a poisoned former Soviet KGB agent said he had given police the name of a suspect he believes orchestrated the killing of Alexander Litvinenko.

"The truth is, we have an act of international terrorism on our hands. I happen to believe I know who is behind the death of my friend Sasha (Litvinenko) and the reason for his murder," Yuri Shvets said in an exclusive interview with the AP by telephone from the United States.

Shvets, also a former KGB officer, said he had known Litvinenko, who died in London after he was exposed to a rare radioactive element, since 2002 and had spoken to him on November 23, the day he died.

He said he was questioned by Scotland Yard officers and an FBI agent in Washington last week. A police official in London, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case, confirmed officers had interviewed Shvets.

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