Miliband in Moscow

Poor David Miliband. The Britich foreign secretary can’t seem to do a whole lot right…Especially as regards Britiain-Russia relations. A Ria Novosti Article stated that relations between Miliband and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, could not be worse. The problems all stem from the infamous Alexander Litvinenko poisoning case of 2006. The British Government have been repeatedly trying to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB member and now a pro-Kremlin MP (just another one of Putin’s protective circle of friends!), who is a prime suspect in connection with the murder. This has been to no avail. The current visit to Russia was intended to clear up the souring of relations resulting from the Litvinenko case and the ensuing proceedings. However, as a BBC article puts it, Miliband was simply “snubbed” when he repeated his demands concerning the extradition and the future of Russo-British relations. Lavrov’s curt actions surely have something to do with the fact that Miliband met with numerous anti-Kremlin figures and liberal officials, include Mikhail Gorbachev, who has been so outspoken against the Kremlin of late, criticizing United Russia for their running a “managed democracy” akin to that of the former Soviet Union. It seems Britain are starting to pin hopes on a change in power at the next general election in Russia. Could this not be a rather rash move so early in the game?