Brown fails to ease tensions with Kremlin

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's hopes of a thaw in the United Kingdom's relationship with the Kremlin received a setback on Monday after "sharp-edged" talks with the new Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev. In a meeting that lasted just over an hour, Brown received little sign that Moscow was prepared to give ground on three key issues: visas for BP staff working on a joint venture; the closure of British Council offices; and Russia's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi for the alleged poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006. A Downing Street spokesperson described the meeting as "constructive and workmanlike" -- normally seen as diplomatic code for difficult talks. With relations between Britain and Russia at their frostiest since the end of the Cold War, a Kremlin spokesperson said the talks had... [read full story]