today

"In accordance with Russian law, citizens of Russia cannot be turned over to foreign states," according to the the Russian prosecutor-general's office.

However Yuri Sharandin, chairman of the constitutional legislation committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, said it was possible for Russia to extradite its citizens, but that it also could refuse such requests. Sharandin said on Ekho Moskvy radio that the matter would come under the European Convention on Extradition, to which both Russia and Britain are signatories.

"Murder is murder, this is a very serious case," Blair's spokesman said. Too right, but who ever took any notice of Toady ?

IMO: I would say that on the face of it Russia sounds very reasonable in not kowtowing immediately to the Brits desires and I contrast that behaviour to the Brits kowtowing to George Bush and extraditing anyone he facies to Gitmo etc. However there are serious issues on all sides of the matter, and I spelled out some of this in an earlier blog entry. One clear matter I mentioned involves the possibility of Georgia eventually joing the EU. I hope that any diplomatic issues can be resolved in a way satisfactory to all parties, though knowing Europe that seems unlikely.