MOSCOW, June 27 (RAPSI) - Banker Alexander Lebedev said he punched businessman Sergei Polonsky during the filming of an NTV talk show to neutralize his aggression.

He provided the explanation in the Ostankinsky District Court of Moscow where he had been summoned for questioning, RAPSI reports from the court.

The initial charges against Lebedev were made last September, more than a year after he punched Polonsky during the show. The scuffle ensued after Polonsky accused Lebedev of spreading a rumor about a crack in the Moscow City skyscraper that his firm was building.

Lebedev has been accused of hooliganism and battery.

He has not admitted his guilt and said the charges are unsubstantiated.

"I only did it to make him come to his senses," Lebedev said, adding that Polonsky's behavior was bordering on aggression. "I took the movement of his hand towards my head as a physical threat," the banker said.

"I blocked his arm and tried to push it away by hitting my own palm," he said. "It is an easy trick that does not require professional skills," but it brought Polonsky to his senses. "However, the film from the 12 cameras that were running was later edited so as to present the bout as hooliganism," Lebedev said. "Even the investigator thought it was hooliganism, but I believe that they have been deceived."

The banker said he had not met Polonsky before the filming of the show but had "heard a lot about his way of life." Lebedev added that Polonsky's negative attitude may have been provoked by a deputy's request he filed about a crack in the foundation and breaches of fire safety rules at the Federation Tower. 

Lebedev, 52, is the co-owner of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper and the owner of The Independent. He supported a program to raise funds for opposition leader Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption project RosPil and has also made repeated claims about a persecution campaign against his businesses by the Russian government, a charge the authorities deny.

Late last December, Polonsky ended up in a fracas in Cambodia, when he and two other Russians allegedly attacked the six-person crew of a boat ferrying them from a Cambodian island to Sihanoukville. The sailors later dropped their charges.

Polonsky and two other Russian nationals, Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky, were arrested on December 31. Baglay and Karachinsky were released on bail on March 11, 2013. 

On April 3, Polonsky was released from the Cambodian prison but was restricted from leaving the country.

He later reportedly traveled to Israel. On June 20, lawyer Diana Tatosova said Polonsky is hoping to become an Israeli national.