Tree of Knowledge

Those looking for a more considered political response to the Russo-Georgian conflict than John McCain’s bellicose rhetoric need look no further than UK Foreign Minister, David Miliband’s Op-Ed in The Times. Here’s a taste:

At the emergency Nato foreign ministers meeting today I will argue for political and practical support for Georgia. Politically we need to reassert our commitment to its territorial integrity and, like the EU last week, to immediate international engagement with the long-term settlement of the frozen conflicts. Practically we need to confirm the commitment made at the Nato summit in April to membership for Ukraine and Georgia and to follow it up with serious co-operation - militarily and politically - as part of a structured route map to eventual membership.

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We have significant shared interests with Russia, whether on energy, trade or stopping Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. And with a declining population and an economy not much bigger than Spain’s, Russia needs positive international partnerships.

Our response should be to welcome them into systems such as the World Trade Organisation - if they are willing to abide by the rules. We should forge greater European unity on issues such as energy, and then engage with Russia: together we are Russia’s energy market, and while it is a dominant supplier negotiating with 27 separate countries, it is far less powerful in the face of a concerted European negotiating position.

On the international stage, the UK favours reform of the G8 - notably expanding its membership to reflect the modern realities of the economic balance of power, and the position of countries such as India and China. I do not support Russia’s expulsion from the G8: that would encourage Russian sense of victimhood, fuel Russian revanchism, and allow the Russians to position themselves as the champion of reform for those currently outside the G8.

HT: Liberal Conspiracy

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