- Title: RUSSIA: UK and Russian foreign policy chiefs hold joint news conference in Moscow
- Date: 3rd November 2009
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (NOVEMBER 2, 2009) (REUTERS) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV ARRIVING TO GIVE NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "This meeting over the last day has added depth and drive to the UK-Russia relationship, it is a mark of the respect I believe that we hold for each other that we do not hide our differences, but that we work very hard to find common ground and to promote common action." MILIBAND AND LAVROV AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "Despite certain remaining problems in the relationship between Russia and Britain, our countries have a general interest in widening cooperation, both in bilateral issues as well as finding solutions for existing international problems." JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "I emphasised the importance that we continue to attach to the three requests that were made by our independent prosecuting authorities in respect of the murder of Mr. Litvinenko, we will continue to seek justice for him. I believe it is an important part of our modern relationship with Russia that we can be clear about these issues, we can stress their importance we can continue to be absolutely open about the importance that we attach to them." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "The horrific murder in 2006 of Mr. Litvinenko has been followed up by our independent prosecuting authorities and they have sent substantial information to their Russian counterparts. I have all the reasons to believe that the work of the Crown Prosecution Service has been full and has engaged in all the appropriate mechanisms for international cooperation on this issue." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "I believe our British colleagues understand that their demand for us to change our constitution is absolutely unrealistic. Today, we once again confirmed what we have been saying all these months and years that in case the British side provides the necessary materials, our Prosecutor General will be ready to conduct court investigations in the Russian Federation with the participation of British representatives. If there is a concrete interest to get to the bottom of this matter, there are ways to do it. If we do it, I believe we would get rid of a problem which hinders our relationship and it could clear some other problems that were artificially brought into our relationship." MILIBAND LISTENING MEDIA/ MILIBAND AND LAVROV AT NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 18th November 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAPB2L7OPZB9EVQL9KJ5E4003Y
- Story Text: Britain sought to mend ties to Russia on Monday (November 2) damaged by rows over espionage and the London murder of a former Russian agent, with Foreign Secretary David Miliband saying the two countries must meet challenges together.
Miliband, on the first full visit by a British Foreign Secretary to Moscow since 2004, met Russian officials in an attempt to heal a political relationship that has been among the worst that any major power has had with Russia.
At talks in Moscow both Miliband and Lavrov seeked to end 5 years of frost in the UK -Russia relationship.
"This meetings over the last day has added depth and drive to the UK-Russia relationship, it is a mark of the respect I believe that we hold for each other that we do not hide our differences, but that we work very hard to find common ground and to promote common action," Miliband said at a news conference after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks.
"Despite certain remaining problems in the relationship between Russia and Britain, our countries have a general interest in widening cooperation, both in bilateral issues as well as finding solutions for existing international problems," Lavrov said.
Iran's nuclear programme, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and the Middle East settlement were among many issues discussed.
British-Russian relations reached a post-Cold War low in 2006 after Moscow refused to extradite a former KGB bodyguard who Britain suspects of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko with polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope.
British officials felt they had to make a strong stand over the murder -- one of the first assassinations in a major Western capital with nuclear material -- after Litvinenko's London-based associates blamed the murder on the Russian security services.
Miliband said differences on the issue still remain between UK and Russia.
"I emphasised the importance that we continue to attach to the three requests that were made by our independent prosecuting authorities in respect of the murder of Mr. Litvinenko, we will continue to seek justice for him. I believe it is an important part of our modern relationship with Russia that we can be clear about these issues, we can stress their importance we can continue to be absolutely open about the importance that we attach to them," Miliband said.
"The horrific murder in 2006 of Mr. Litvinenko has been followed up by our independent prosecuting authorities and they have sent substantial information to their Russian counterparts. I have all the reasons to believe that the work of the Crown Prosecution Service has been full and has engaged in all the appropriate mechanisms for international cooperation on this issue."
Russian officials denied any links to the murder, as did the former KGB bodyguard, Andrei Lugovoy, who was accused by Britain of the killing.
Russia has said meeting Britain's demand to extradite Lugovoy would contradict the Russian constitution which prohibits extradition of the Russian citizens.
"I believe our British colleagues understand that their demand for us to change our constitution is absolutely unrealistic. Today, we once again confirmed what we have been saying all these months and years that in case the British side provides the necessary materials, our Prosecutor General will be ready to conduct court investigations in the Russian Federation with the participation of British representatives. If their is a concrete interest to get to the bottom of this matter, there are ways to do it. If we do it, I believe we would get rid of a problem which hinders our relationship and it could clear some other problems that were artificially brought into our relationship," Lavrov said.
Moscow has also expressed irritation that London is home to a large concentration of anti-Kremlin exiles. Although some of them are wanted on criminal charges in Russia, Britain has refused to extradite them.
Even before the Litvinenko murder, mutual espionage accusations between London and Moscow, and London's grant of political asylum to some of the Kremlin's enemies had cast a shadow over bilateral business and trade.
But still Britain is one of the biggest investors in the Russian economy, accounting for a tenth, or 24.6 billion U.S. Dollars, of the foreign investment Russia has received since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, according to Russian state statistics.
BP Plc has a 50 percent stake in Russia's third-biggest oil-and-gas producer, TNK-BP, and Russian companies used London to list shares and sell bonds during the boom years.
Russia will hold a preliminary road show in London this week for its first major sovereign Eurobond since 1998 crisis, which Moscow needs to cover a budget deficit.
British-Russian trade totalled 22.5 billion USD in 2008, though exports to Britain made up two thirds of the trade.
Diplomats said Miliband's visit was the first full official visit to Moscow for bilateral talks by a British foreign secretary since Jack Straw came in 2004, although Margaret Beckett attended a G8 foreign ministers' meeting here in 2006. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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