Miliband warns Medvedev to avoid new Cold War

David Miliband has warned Russia not to start a new Cold War as a result of its actions in Georgia. Speaking in the Ukraine capital Kiev, the Foreign Secretary said: "Russia has not reconciled itself to the new map of this new region. We do not want a new Cold War. Mr Miliband said that Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has a "big responsibility" not to raise the stakes. And he added that there was a need for the West to "re-examine the nature, depth and breadth of relations" with Russia. "We need to raise the costs to Russia for disregarding its responsibility," he warned. Meanwhile Nato nations reaffirmed their condemnation of Russia's move to recognise the rebel South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions and collectively called on Moscow to reverse the step. In a statement the 26-nation military alliance said: "The North Atlantic Council condemns the decision of the Russian Federation to extend recognition to the South Ossetian and Abkhazian regions of Georgia and calls upon Russia to reverse its decision. "Russia's actions have called into question its commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus." The conflict has cast a pall over tentative efforts by Nato and Russia in recent years to improve military ties, with Nato saying normal contacts are not possible until Moscow has stuck to the terms of a French-brokered peace deal, and Russia casting doubt over various joint projects between the two. Mr Medvedev has warned that he is considering halting co-operation with Nato altogether, amid the fallout from the one-sided military confrontation between Russia and Georgia earlier this month. On Tuesday, Russia cancelled a visit by Nato's secretary-general, and it has complained that the alliance is bolstering its military presence in the Black Sea. Mr Medvedev declared: "We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War. "But we don't want it and in this situation everything depends on the position of our partners."

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ITN | August 27, 2008

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