British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday that the West doesn't want a new Cold War with Russia and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a big responsibility to avoid it.
"Russia has not reconciled itself to the new map of this new region ... We do not want a new Cold War and he (Medvedev) has a big responsibility not to start one," Miliband said in Ukraine's capital, Kiev.
"We need to raise the costs to Russia for disregarding its responsibility," he said, adding that there would be a conference call involving the foreign ministers of the G7.
However, Miliband, who arrived here Wednesday to hold consultations with the Ukrainian side on situations in Georgia, pointed out that isolating Russia would be counterproductive, arguing that the West relied on cooperation with Moscow to tackle global problems like climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.
"Isolation is not feasible -- Russia is too enmeshed in the world economy. It would be counterproductive," he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko asked Miliband to push NATO to bring Ukraine and Georgia closer toward membership in the Western military alliance by approving a "membership action plan" for them at a planned NATO foreign ministers' meeting in December 2008.
"Ukraine and Georgia can feel themselves safe only after becoming a NATO member", Ohryzko said.
Source:Xinhua
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