Britain accuses Russia of "blatant aggression"
(Adds more quotes, details)
LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain accused Russia on Wednesday of blatant aggression in its military incursion into Georgia and warned that it faced political consequences if it failed to uphold its international responsibilities.
"The sight of Russian tanks rolling into parts of a sovereign country on its neighbouring borders will have brought a chill down the spine of many people," Foreign Secretary David Miliband told BBC radio. "That is simply not the way in which international relations can be run in the 21st century."
European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Wednesday to debate the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia after EU president France brokered a peace plan to end the fighting.
"We've got to make sure that the Russians realise that they do have rights in the international system but they must be allied with responsibilities," Miliband said before the meeting began. "And when responsibilities are not upheld, there are political consequences for Russia."
Miliband said the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialised nations had shown its willingness in recent days to act without Russia -- which has been part of a larger G8 grouping.
"It's unprecedented, since the G8 became the G8 in the 1990s for seven countries to come together without an eighth country, but that has happened over the last few days, and I think that makes very clear to Russia that there are political consequences," Miliband said.
G7 foreign ministers have had several conference calls in the past few days to discuss the situation in Georgia.
Miliband did not rule out the possibility of European Union peacekeepers going to the region, but said the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should play the leading role.
"There is merit in looking at how we make sure there is a proper international presence there," he said. (Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Adrian Croft and Tim Pearce)
LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain accused Russia on Wednesday of blatant aggression in its military incursion into Georgia and warned that it faced political consequences if it failed to uphold its international responsibilities.
"The sight of Russian tanks rolling into parts of a sovereign country on its neighbouring borders will have brought a chill down the spine of many people," Foreign Secretary David Miliband told BBC radio. "That is simply not the way in which international relations can be run in the 21st century."
European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Wednesday to debate the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia after EU president France brokered a peace plan to end the fighting.
"We've got to make sure that the Russians realise that they do have rights in the international system but they must be allied with responsibilities," Miliband said before the meeting began. "And when responsibilities are not upheld, there are political consequences for Russia."
Miliband said the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialised nations had shown its willingness in recent days to act without Russia -- which has been part of a larger G8 grouping.
"It's unprecedented, since the G8 became the G8 in the 1990s for seven countries to come together without an eighth country, but that has happened over the last few days, and I think that makes very clear to Russia that there are political consequences," Miliband said.
G7 foreign ministers have had several conference calls in the past few days to discuss the situation in Georgia.
Miliband did not rule out the possibility of European Union peacekeepers going to the region, but said the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should play the leading role.
"There is merit in looking at how we make sure there is a proper international presence there," he said. (Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Adrian Croft and Tim Pearce)
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