Britain Calls For Extradition Of Murders Of Its Citizen - Putin Calls This "Colonialist Thinking"

Vladimir Putin uses words in funny ways:


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday denounced Britain's demands for the extradition of a suspect in the killing of Alexander Litvinenko as insulting and a relic of its colonial thinking.

"What they propose is an obvious vestige of colonial thinking," Putin was shown saying on Russian state television.

"They must have clearly forgotten that Britain is no longer a colonial power, there are no colonies left and, thank God, Russia has never been a British colony," Putin said.

Asked for a reaction to Putin's comments, a Foreign Office spokesman in London told Reuters: "We continue to look for a willingness from the Russian authorities to work constructively with us to bring this crime, committed in the UK, to justice in a British court."

Russia has refused to extradite suspect Andrei Lugovoy to stand trial in London for the murder of Litvinenko, citing its constitution, which forbids the extradition of Russian citizens.

"They should better change their brains than our constitution," Putin said at a meeting with youth organizations outside Moscow.