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David Miliband joined a chorus of Western leaders to condemn Russia, accusing the Kremlin of jeopardising European security by recognising Georgia's two breakaway regions. Speaking in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, the Foreign Secretary said that Russia was "more isolated, less trusted and less respected" as a result of its actions in Georgia. These breached a United Nations Resolution, approved by Moscow last April, which reaffirmed Georgia's sovereignty over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Mr Miliband placed the onus for avoiding a new Cold War firmly on President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia. "The Russian President says he is not afraid of a new...

The United States has been left diplomatically isolated after European members of NATO moved to reject an American proposal to scale back ties with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Georgia. US diplomats attending an emergency NATO summit in Brussels had called on the alliance to suspend ministerial meetings with Russia, held twice a year, as a way of demonstrating the West's disapproval of the war. But other members of the alliance, including Britain, rejected the plan, saying that it would be foolish to isolate Russia. Instead diplomats released their strongly-worded statement, stopping short of concrete action, at least for now....

Excerpt - KABUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived in Kabul on Thursday for an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. ~ snip ~

LONDON (AFP) - Britain is planning a "diplomatic surge" in the Middle East and south Asia to help counter extremism and nuclear proliferation, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in an article published Sunday. Writing in The Sunday Times, Miliband said 2008 would "show in word and deed" what Prime Minister Gordon Brown meant when he described his government's approach to world affairs as one of "hard-headed internationalism". "We plan a diplomatic surge in the Middle East and south Asia by raising the number of staff by 30 percent," he said. "That means we can deepen our engagement with Pakistan to...

David Miliband accused of mounting a campaign to 'destabilise' Gordon BrownDavid Miliband's relationship with Gordon Brown was under strain last night after Labour insiders blamed him for a campaign to "destabilise" the Prime Minister. A Whitehall row over spin was in danger of escalating after the Foreign Secretary was accused of reviving his ambitions to challenge for the leadership. Days of tetchy exchanges between Downing Street and the Foreign Office culminated in claims that Mr Miliband has been behaving "disgracefully". The Foreign Secretary tried to clear the air yesterday, insisting he was 'proud' to be working under Mr Brown. But...

David Miliband in Taliban policy split with US By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad Last Updated: 10:01pm BST 26/07/2007 Differences between British and American strategy in dealing with Taliban militants emerged yesterday during the Foreign Secretary’s first visit to Pakistan. Mr Miliband with Pakistan's foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri David Miliband, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary, emphasised that a purely military solution to violence in Pakistan’s tribal areas would not alone quash the insurgency. “Britain has a strong interest in the stability of Pakistan, in defeating extremism and in the development of tribal areas,” said Mr Miliband after talks with President Pervez...

LONDON (Reuters) - New British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, seeking to squash speculation that London may distance itself from Washington over Iraq, has insisted the U.S. is still Britain's number one ally. Since Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair as British prime minister last month, he has been at pains to stress there is no cooling off in Anglo-American relations -- but two of his ministers offered mixed signals. Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said in a speech in Washington that while Britain stood beside the United States in fighting terrorism, isolationism did not work in an interdependent world. Then...

David Miliband became British foreign secretary on Thursday, the youngest man to take on the job in thirty years, as new Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed his team. "I am tremendously honored," Miliband said, adding that modern diplomacy in his view should be "patient as well as purposeful." Former Environment Secretary, Miliband, 41, was once Tony Blair's top policy adviser and had been touted as a candidate to challenge Brown in the leadership contest. Miliband was reportedly skeptical about the decision to go to war in Iraq and, according to media reports, voiced his dismay in cabinet at Tony Blair's...