Miliband begins visit to Russia
David Miliband has met his Russian counterpart in Moscow on the first visit to the country in five years by a British foreign secretary.
Relations between the UK and the Kremlin reached a low after the murder in London of Russian emigre Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006.
Mr Miliband met Sergei Lavrov for dinner and informal talks, ahead of a further meeting on Monday.
Discussions are expected to cover Iran, the Middle East and Afghanistan.
According to BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall, a senior diplomat has indicated the main focus will be on issues where Russia’s collaboration is needed internationally – over Afghanistan, and over the question of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The aim, said the diplomat, was to be clearer about Russia’s position on Iran, and whether if current negotiations with Tehran failed, Russia would be prepared to adopt a tougher position.
The last British foreign secretary to visit Russia was Jack Straw in 2004. But Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken frequently with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev at international summits.
Ahead of his arrival, Mr Miliband said the UK still does not always “see eye to eye” with Russia but acknowledged it is a world power and an important trading partner.
Writing on his blog, Mr Miliband said: “We share the same global challenges and it is important that we work on them together.
“The wealth of people-to-people contacts and the dynamic business links which have grown between Britain and Russia over the last 20 years make political engagement all the more important.”
The Foreign Office said Mr Miliband would meet a range of politicians, business leaders and representatives of civil society before returning home on Tuesday.
Relations between Britain and Russia took a turn for the worse after former Russian security agent Mr Litvinenko was poisoned.
Moscow refused UK requests to extradite chief suspect Andrei Lugovoi and several tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions took place as the row rumbled on.
The situation worsened further when Moscow ordered the closure of British Council offices due to alleged tax irregularities.
