Robin Cook: friendly message

Cook Seeks to Reassure Russians

The latest senior figure to take the message to Moscow is the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, who arrived on Sunday night. He is having talks with the Russian Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, and Deputy Prime Minister, Boris Nemtsov.

He is there at a relatively tense moment. The Russians have condemned both last week's decision to start NATO's eastward expansion and the operation by British troops which saw one Bosnian Serb official accused of war crimes shot dead and another captured and delivered to the tribunal at the Hague.

The American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has already been to Moscow. On Tuesday, the German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel, is going.

Like them, Mr Cook is seeking to reassure Russia that in the eyes of the West, it is central to the security of Europe, despite the decision to admit Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic as full members of NATO.

Moscow unhappy at NATO expansion

In particular, Mr Cook will emphasise the importance of the Russia-NATO Partnership Council, set up under the agreement signed in May.

Mr Cook is the first British Cabinet minister to visit Moscow since Labour was elected to government in May. British officials say he's committed to a strong partnership with Russia, and wants to strengthen his personal relationship with Mr Primakov and with leading Russian reformers.

In particular, Mr Cook will discuss a joint agreement on fighting crime, drugs and terrorism, which it is hoped will be signed by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, when he visits Russia later in the year. Boosting trade is also on the agenda.