MOSCOW, Feb 21 (AFP) - A probe of the slaying of the US editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine remains open and Russia is awaiting extradition from Belarus of two men in connection with the case, ITAR-TASS news agency on Monday quoted Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov as saying.
The agency obtained portions of an interview with the Russian daily Moskovski Komsomolets scheduled to be published Tuesday in which Ustinov said that the case of the murder of Paul Klebnikov was not solved but was still being pursued.
"We are currently waiting for extradition from Belarus of figures in the case," the agency quoted Ustinov as saying. He provided no further details on their identities.
A spokesman for the Belarus interior ministry told AFP on November 29 that police there had arrested a Russian national of Chechen origin on suspicion of involvement in the the killing of Klebnikov.
Klebnikov, a US citizen who had published several investigative stories on figures in Russia's murky business world and had worked for Forbes in the United States for nearly 15 years, was shot by unknown gunmen in Moscow last July.
He died in an ambulance being rushed to hospital and his murder remains unsolved. Colleagues have said his murder was connected to his work as a journalist and the case is routinely cited by rights and press freedom groups as an example of the dangers of working as a journalist in Russia.
ITAR-TASS said Belarus authorities had announced last November 17 the arrest of two men in connection with the case. It identified them both as natives of Russia's restive republic of Chechnya and named them as Kazbek Dukuzov and Valid Agayev.
The reported comments from Ustinov came three days ahead of a summit meeting between US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. US officials have said Bush will question Putin about press freedom and protection for journalists in Russia.
02/21/2005 16:35 GMT - AFP