The man reported to be the chief suspect in the radiation poisoning death of a former Russian spy in London denies any involvement in Alexander Litvinenko's murder.
Andrei Lugovoi, an ex-KGB officer, told The Associated Press that recent reports in British media are nothing but "lies, provocation and government propaganda."
He said the reports were a thinly-veiled attempt by British investigators to make up for a lack of evidence against him.
"They are trying to make up for their weak hand," Lugovoi said.
On Friday, Sky News reported that U.K. prosecutors had claimed to have enough evidence to charge Lugovoi.
Both Sky and ABC News quoted unnamed sources who reported that investigators had identified a teapot they believe held the radioactive Pulonium-210 poison believed to have killed the 43-year-old Litvinenko last November.
The U.K.'s Guardian newspaper also reported on Friday that police had focused their investigation on Lugovoi and had gathered enough evidence to charge him.
Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, also a former KGB officer, were both present at central London's Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1, when Litvinenko first became sick from a rare form of radiation poisoning.
Kovtun has also been a subject of the Scotland Yard investigation.
ABC News reported that the teapot at the Millenium Hotel that was believed to have held the poison remained in use for several weeks after Litvinenko fell ill. He died on Nov. 23.
In total, 13 people have tested positive for Polonium-210 since Litvinenko was poisoned, including eight workers at the hotel.
Litvinenko had become a vocal opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin after fleeing from Russia to Britain, where he was granted asylum.
In a statement from his deathbed, Litvinenko even accused Putin of masterminding his death.
Moscow has denied playing any role in the murder.
Tension between the two countries has been at its highest since the Cold War.
On Saturday, Russia's Prosecutor General's office reaffirmed that it would not extradite Lugovoi to Britain.
"A Russian citizen cannot be extradited to another country under the Russian Constitution," Natalia Fyodorova, a spokeswoman for Prosecutor-General's office, told AP.
Fyodorova also said Russia would not put Lugovoi on trial unless Russian investigators themselves decided to charge him as a suspect.
With files from The Associated Press
