Miliband says Russia must avoid “new Cold War”
Washington, 27 August (IranVNC)—Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband today said that Russia had a “big responsibility” not to start a new Cold War, a day after Russia formally recognized two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as independent.
By: IranVNC
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
14:30GMT—10:30AM/EST
UK – RUSSIA – GEORGIA – CRITICISM
Washington, 27 August (IranVNC)—Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband today said that Russia had a “big responsibility” not to start a new Cold War, a day after Russia formally recognized two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as independent.
Speaking to a group of students in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, Miliband said: “The Russian President says he is not afraid of a new Cold War. We don’t want one,” the British Daily Telegraph newspaper reports.
Miliband added: “He has a big responsibility not to start one.”
NATO members today called on Moscow to reverse its decision to recognize the two regions.
In a statement released today, the 26-country military alliance said that NATO “condemns the decision of the Russia federation to extend recognition to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia and calls upon Russia to reverse its decision.”
Miliband, who is in Ukraine for talks on creating a coalition against Russia, noted that there would soon be a conference call involving the foreign ministers of the G7, and added: “We need to re-examine the nature, depth and breadth of relations [with Russia],” Reuters reports.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel also reiterated her condemnation of the decision in a telephone conversation with Medvedev, held at Merkel’s initiative.
Merkel’s spokesperson, Ulrich Wilhelm, reported that the German chancellor told Medvedev that the decision did not comply with international law, Deutsche Welle reports.
She also said that the presence of Russian troops in Georgia was a “grave violation” of a French-brokered ceasefire agreement between the two countries.
For its part, Moscow issued a statement after the talks, which read: “D.A. Medvedev gave exhaustive explanations to A. Merkel’s questions and confirmed Russia’s commitment to the agreed principles.”
Georgia, which yesterday denounced the move as an “unconcealed annexation” of Georgian territory, today announced that it had recalled all but two diplomats from its embassy in Moscow, Reuters reports.
Medvedev today discussed the situation with China’s President Hu Jintao in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, on the sidelines of a meeting of the central-Asian security alliance, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, AFP reports.
Until now, China has expressed “concern” over the move but has stopped short of criticizing Medvedev’s decision, AFP reports.
Russia and Georgia began fighting on 7 August after Georgian troops launched an attack on the Russian-backed region of South Ossetia. Russia responded with a military offensive that has expanded into other parts of Georgia.
Sources: The Telegraph, Reuters, NATO website, Deutsche Welle in English, Agence France-Presse
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