Kovtun:Alexander Litvinenko may have killed himself accidentally

Alexander Litvinenko in the intensive care unit of University College Hospital, London, on 20 November 2006. Photograph: Natasja Weitsz/Getty Images

 

 

Kovtun, one of the Russians accused of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko ,the former Soviet spy  says Litvinenko had been exposed to radioactive polonium before their meeting. Litvinenko's death is said to have occurred following an order from Vladimir Putin that he be murdered.

 

It is believed that Litvinenko was with green tea laced with polonium-210 during a meeting with two men, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy. However, Kovtun has denied the allegation and described Litvienko's death as an  “inadvertent suicide”.

 

“My main version is that it was an accident,” said Kovtun, adding that he believed Litvinenko had been exposed to polonium before their meeting.

 

“I am more than certain he dealt with polonium without even knowing it. It might have been a leak and polonium was accumulating in his body gradually.”