4:29pm Wednesday 27th August 2008
© Press Association 2010
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has issued a warning to Russia not to provoke a new Cold War with the West.
In a speech to students in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Mr Miliband said that the sight of Russian tanks in Georgia had come as a "rude awakening".
He accused Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of trying to "redraw the map" of the Caucasus through his unilateral recognition of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"The Russian President says he is not afraid of a new Cold War. We don't want one. He has a big responsibility not to start one," Mr Miliband said.
Mr Miliband said that he had come to the Ukraine to demonstrate his support for the former Soviet republic, seen by some observers as the next possible target of Russian aggression.
Like Georgia, the pro-Western government in Kiev wants to join Nato and the European Union - moves firmly opposed by Moscow.
"I want to re-affirm the commitment of the United Kingdom to support the democratic choices of the Ukrainian people," Mr Miliband said.
"My visit is designed to send a simple message: we have not forgotten our commitments to you. Nor shall we do so."
The Foreign Secretary said that events in Georgia had ended the period of post-Cold War calm in Europe.
"The Georgia crisis has provided a rude awakening. The sight of Russian tanks in a neighbouring country on the 40th anniversary of the crushing of the Prague Spring has shown that the temptations of power politics remain," he said.
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