London, UK - 21 July 2007, 12:20 GMT

Dear ATCA Colleagues

[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]

We are grateful to:

. Prof Lord Skidelsky of Tilton from The Palace of Westminster for "Noting the Russian Constitution and Point of View;"

in response to The Lord Howell of Guildford for his submission to ATCA, "Dealing with Russia and USA in the context of the Middle East, China and India: Is British diplomacy off the leash as a poodle turns into a bulldog?"

Prof Lord (Robert) Skidelsky is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick, England, author of The World After Communism (1995) and the internationally acclaimed biography in three volumes of the most eminent post-Victorian economist Lord John Maynard Keynes, which received 5 prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council of Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1994. Robert Skidelsky was elevated to the House of Lords in 1991 and served as Chief Opposition Spokesman on Treasury Affairs (1998-1999). From 1991 to 2001 he was Chairman of the Social Market Foundation. Since 2002 he has been Chairman of the Centre for Global Studies (London). Lord Skidelsky is a non-executive director of Janus Capital Inc and a Director of Transnational Insights Ltd. A Russian speaker, he is Director of the Moscow School of Political Studies and a Trustee of Our Talents Foundation (Moscow). He is also a Trustee of the Manhattan Institute. He writes:

Dear DK and Colleagues

Re: Noting the Russian Constitution and Point of View

I wholly agree with The Lord Howell that 'handling... Russia correctly...is vital to our well-being.' But I want to challenge his assertion that the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from London was an 'entirely justified retaliation' for Russia's refusal to extradite Andrey Lugovy to stand trial in a British court on a charge of having murdered Alexander Litvinenko. This was not an example of the correct handling of Russia.

[CONTINUES] [ATCA Membership]

A correct handling of 'prickly' Russia might have been for Britain to agree that Lugovy be tried in Moscow, with the condition that British prosecutors presented their evidence in public to a Russian court. This would have been a constructive step towards cross-country judicial cooperation. It is still not too late for Britain to suggest this as a compromise, before the game of 'tit for tat' does more damage than anyone wants.

Thank you

Robert Skidelsky