Moscow, London try to thaw frosty ties

As the first top British diplomat to visit Moscow in recent five years, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband wrapped up his two-day visit to Russia on 2 November where the he held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The latter hailed the talks with Miliband as “good and productive.”
The two diplomats have issued three joint statements on nuclear on-proliferation, Afghanistan and the Middle East settlement. “I expect them to help us advance on the issues on which we hold close positions as well as on those which we are still working to bring closer,” Lavrov said at a press conference. As on nuclear nonproliferation, Moscow and London adhere to the strengthening of nuclear non-proliferation regime, and stand for the expansion of the powers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
As on Afghanistan, the two countries pledge “close cooperation with the future Afghan government.”
As on the Middle East settlement, Russia and Britain stressed that the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state living in peace with Israel should be the ultimate objective of the settlement.
In addition, both foreign ministers have urged an answer from Tehran to the IAEA proposal on the enrichment of uranium aboard. “All the interested sides (Russia, the United States, France and Iran) met under IAEA auspices. The meeting resulted in a draft document that was compiled by the agency leadership and which as we expect will be approved by all sides without exception, including Iran,” Lavrov said.
Miliband also urged a prompt response from Iran at the press conference. “We both want to see a prompt response from the Iranian regime in respect of the Tehran research reactor proposal,” he said. The IAEA proposal suggested shipping most of Iran’s existing low-grade enriched uranium to Russia and France where it would be processed into fuel rods with a purity of 20%. The higher-level enriched uranium would be transported back to Iran to be used in a research reactor in Tehran for the manufacture of medical radioisotopes. Lavrov said Russia would push for another meeting for a “proper” dialogue between six world powers (Britain, China, France, Germany Russia and the United States) and Iran. Envoys of the six powers and Iran have met in Geneva on October 1.
However, it was quite clear that bilateral relations remained strained by the poisoning of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London three years ago. Miliband pressed Russia to turn over the main suspect in the 2006 killing of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died from radioactive polonium poisoning in a London hospital. Russia has refused to extradite ex-KGB officer-turned-businessman Andrei Lugovoi, saying its constitution forbids extraditing its citizens.
Lavrov used the same argument Monday in refusing the request from UK counterpart David Miliband, who said Britain would continue to demand justice in the “horrific murder”.
“I suspect that our British counterparts are aware of the fact that a demand to change our constitution is not realistic,” Lavrov said, referring to the Russian law forbidding the extradition of Russian citizens. Lavrov said Russia was willing to prosecute any suspect if Britain provides the evidence. Miliband said Britain has already provided such evidence — which Lavrov denies. Before his death, Litvinenko recorded a searing message from his hospital bed blaming Russian authorities, including then-President Vladimir Putin, for his killing.
The Litvinenko case pushed British-Russian relations to a post-Cold War low, and ties have been further strained by mutual allegations of spying, Russia’s assault on British Council offices and a boardroom dispute at British-Russian venture TNK-BP.