British foreign minister seeks to mend rift with Russia

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband and his Russian counterpart said Monday their nations could find common ground on global issues despite differences that have badly strained their ties.

Miliband, the first British foreign secretary to visit Russia in five years, said that Britain will continue pressing for justice in the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko, but added that there are other areas where the two nations can work together.

"There are important areas of common ground alongside well-publicized areas of difference, and we don't compromise on areas of difference by searching for common ground in other areas," Miliband said after talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Russian-British relations fell to a post-Cold War low after Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer and British citizen, died after being poisoned by radioactive polonium in London.

Russia has refused to hand over the main suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, a former security officer turned millionaire businessman, saying the constitution forbids the extradition of its citizens. Lugovoi is now a member of Russia's Kremlin-controlled parliament.

Lavrov on Monday reaffirmed Russia's refusal to hand over Lugovoi, saying the British push for his extradition amounts to a demand to change the Russian constitution. He said that Russia was ready to prosecute suspects in the Litvinenko case if British authorities provide evidence.

Collective work:

Miliband responded that British authorities already have provided enough information to their Russian counterparts. Litvinenko's widow, Marina, was angered by Miliband's decision to visit Moscow on the third anniversary of her husband's poisoning.

While noting the differences, both Lavrov and Miliband sought to emphasize the areas of shared interest, such as collective work to settle the Iranian nuclear standoff and bring peace to the Middle East.

Lavrov said that Russia expects Iran to accept a U.N.-backed plan demanding that it ship most of its uranium outside its borders to be further enriched in Russia and turned into fuel rods in France for use in a research reactor. "This meeting ended with an agreement... which we are counting on all the participants, without exceptions, to approve, including Iran," the Russian foreign minister said. "We both want to see a prompt response from the Iranian regime in respect to the Tehran research reactor proposal," Miliband said at a joint press conference.

Iran has delayed giving a clear response to the draft agreement brokered by the U.N. atomic energy watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, which is seen as a possible solution to the Iranian nuclear standoff.

The Islamic Republic is under pressure to sign the deal, which would see its low-enriched uranium sent to Russia and France for conversion into fuel and sent back to a Tehran research reactor monitored by the IAEA.

Earlier on Monday Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called for a review of the proposal. The proposed agreement has faced stiff opposition from top Iranian officials who say it is a Western sleight of hand aimed at getting Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment work. Russia, which has closer ties with Iran than any other major world power, is seen as a key player in any possible solution to the standoff.

Miliband voiced hope that his visit will help "add depth and drive to our relations," adding that Russia and Britain must work together on common challenges.

"There is a great number of questions between our countries where we can find a mutual ground of shared actions," he said as the two sat down for talks.

Miliband was also expected to seek an agreement allowing the reopening of British Council offices in Russia, which had fallen victim to the diplomatic feuding. Russia accused the British Council, the cultural arm of the government, of acting illegally and ordered its offices closed in 2007.

Miliband said in an interview with the Russian edition of Newsweek magazine published in its latest issue that the British Council was playing an important cultural role and had no relation to politics. He said Britain would reject any attempts to link its activities to any other issues on the bilateral agenda.