MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Incidents, which took place in Akhmed Zakaev's and Alexander Litvinenko's houses in the UK, may be an attempt to attract public attention, Boris Labusov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service press-service, told Interfax-Military News Agency on October 16.
As was reported in the press, on Friday night bottles with an incendiary mixture were thrown into the houses of Akhmed Zakaev, Aslan Maskhadov's emissary, and Alexander Litvinenko, a former agent of the Russian Federal Security Service. At the same time, mass media quoted Litvinenko as saying that he did not rule out that Russian special services might have been involved in the incident.
Commenting on the reports, Labusov noted that there were numerous examples when certain people simulated attempted assassinations, trying to attract public opinion for various reasons.
He said that it was ridiculous to even discuss involvement of the Foreign Intelligence Service in the incidents. "Our service does not do anything of the kind," he emphasized.
He also noted that Russia demanded Zakaev's extradition to put him on trial. "Thus, Russia needs him alive and in one piece," Labusov stressed.
At the same time he did not rule out the possibility that the incidents might have involved relatives of those, killed in terrorist attacks in Russia. "Of course, this lead cannot be ruled out completely," he said.