British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited Moscow on November 2 to conduct negotiations with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. It is Mr. Miliband’s first visit to Moscow in five years. The relations between Russia and Britain have been worsening steadily during the recent years. Therefore, many observers referred to Miliband’s talks with Russia’s Lavrov as a “reset of relations.”
Indeed, the Russian-British relations could not be characterized as positive. Russia has been seriously concerned with the fact that disgraced oligarch Boris Berezovsky and emissary of Chechen terrorists, Akhmed Zakayev, found shelter in England.
The relations between the two countries were marred in 2006 after the death of former FSB agent and Berezovsky’s associate, Alexander Litvinenko. British special services suspected Andrey Lugovoy, another FSB officer, of being involved in Litvinenko’s case and demanded his delivery.
Russia refused and referred to the Constitution, which did not allow the delivery of Russian citizens to foreign countries. London went hysterical. The British authorities decided to take a series of measures against the Russians.
In the summer of 2007, Britain stopped the talks to ease the visa entry regime with Russia. British entrepreneurs were recommended not to invest in Russian projects. British PM Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressively refused to hold meetings with Russian officials.
The British also set out their concerns in connection with a requirement to bring the activities of the British Council in Russia in line with the Russian legislation. British officials strongly rejected the tax claims against the organization, which eventually led to the closure of nearly all divisions of the Council, except for the head office in Moscow.
The contacts resumed in the middle of 2008, but moot questions remained. Russia condemned Britain’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence, whereas Britain was one of the virulent critics of Russia’s actions in the war in South Ossetia.
This year saw an improvement of relations between the two countries. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Gordon Brown conducted negotiations in London within the scope of the G-20 meeting and then at the G-8 summit in Italy.
Mr. Miliband and Mr. Lavrov passed a joint statement on nuclear disarmament during the talks in Moscow on November 2. Both Russia and Britain supported the universal moratorium on nuclear tests. The officials also discussed the situation in Afghanistan .
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