If the European Union feels that it must speak to Russia in the form of a summit then it must not avoid speaking about the 'elephant in the room'. I refer of course to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in December 2006. Mr Litvinenko was murdered by means of a radioactive substance, Polonium 210, 97% of which is manufactured in the Avandard nuclear facility in Russia. His murder has all the hallmarks of an assassination by the Russian security services.

A radioactive trail led back to Moscow and the chief suspect, Mr Andrei Lugovoy is now a member of the Russian Parliament. The British authorities wish to charge him in London but under the Russian Constitution he cannot be extradited.

Also implicated in the murder are Dimitri Kovtun, and a man identified as Vyacheslav Sokolenko.

Alexander Litvinenko's widow, Marina, has called on the European Commission and Council to raise the matter of Mr Lugovoy's extradition with the Russians at the summit.

The Russian authorities were undoubtedly implicated in the murder in some way. They cannot be treated as an equal among the civilised community of nations until they confront what happened and help bring the murderers to justice.

Russian passed legislation under Mr Putin that allows the murder of their opponents on foreign soil. This has to be a totally unacceptable situation for other nation states.

Mr Litvinenko was a naturalised British citizen, and a citizen of the European Union.  His murder on British soil was an act of state sponsored terrorism against Britain by Russia.

The Russians simply cannot have the freedom to murder European citizens in their own country without consequences.

Mr Litivnenko's murder must come at the top of the EU's agenda at the summit. Otherwise the Russians will simply laugh at the West's weakness.

On behalf of Mrs Litvinenko I call on the Council and Commission to make Mr Litvinenko's murder their top priority at this summit.