Tony Halpin
The global economic crisis has brought Britain and Russia closer, Lord Mandelson said yesterday as he talked of a new era of partnership only weeks after Gordon Brown ruled out "business as usual" with the Kremlin.
Speaking at the end of a four-day visit to Moscow, the Business Secretary said that the two countries would work together to stave off a worldwide recession. Two years after the murder in London of the dissident spy Alexander Litvinenko, he claimed that his friendship with senior Russian ministers would foster mutual trust.
"I hope that my visit will intensify a thawing in the difficult political relationship that we have experienced," Lord Mandelson said. "International politics is about forming relationships, building up trust and knowing you can work closely together and frankly, and that's what I bring to this job."
His tone was in stark contrast to the hawkish stance adopted by the Prime Minister and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, in the aftermath of Russia's war with Georgia in August. Mr Brown condemned Russia's actions as "totally unacceptable" last month, adding: "It cannot be business as usual, indeed it will not be business as usual until things improve."
During his visit, the first by a Cabinet minister in more than 18 months, the Business Secretary stayed in the Linley Suite at the five-star Baltschug Kempinski hotel, which enjoys views across the river of the Kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral and Red Square.
The suite, designed by the company founded by Viscount Linley, the Queen's nephew, is advertised at 177,500 roubles (£4,000) a night. Lord Mandelson's department said that it had paid only £860 a night and the hotel upgraded him for no charge. The British Ambassador's residence opposite the Kremlin was deemed unsuitable because of renovation work.
Richard Lambert, the CBI's Director-General, and other business leaders who accompanied Lord Mandelson stayed in rooms costing £300 a night at an hotel off a ring road.