BLAIR APOLOGIZES TO DETAINED RUSSIAN SENATOR

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LONDON, July 22 (RIA Novosti's Alexander Smotrov) - Tony Blair, Great Britain's Prime Minister, brought an official apology to Mikhail Margelov for his detention.

Mr. Margelov, international affairs committee head at the Federation Council, the Russian parliament's upper house, is in London on a routine visit. Police got him yesterday in Whitehall, just opposite Downing Street. The Senator was questioned and released as soon as his things were searched and a report drawn. The officers referred to the anti-terrorist act of 2001 to explain the detention.

"MPs brought official apologies yesterday. The Foreign Office made its own to Grigory Karasin, Russian Ambassador, the same day. Today, Nigel Scheinwald, prime-ministerial adviser for foreign affairs, passed me Mr. Blair's official apology," Mr. Margelov said to RIA Novosti.

Mikhail Marghelov and Nigel Scheinwald sat in conference for an hour today. Dominating their agenda were bilateral contacts, developments in the Middle East, and a tentative rearrangement of the Russian-British dialogue. Germany is offering a desirable pattern by its dialogue with the UK and with Russia-the latter known as St. Petersburg Dialogue. It envisages dialogues on three levels-a political, to involve legislatures and executive agencies, contacts of non-governmental organizations and media outlets, and a dialogue within the business community.

"Mr. Scheinwald was enthusiastic about the idea. It will come under more discussions to see just how the dialogue will be rearranged. Most certainly, British and Russian top executives will find it very convenient to have a think-tank that will be taking stock of bilateral matters, and analyze ideas and initiatives that underlie them, before those matters turn into baffling problems," says Mikhail Margelov.

He addressed an audience at the International Institute of Strategic Studies this afternoon, after the conference, on Russia's foreign political priorities. Russia'sforeign policies, as blueprinted for this year and on, into 2008, will not see any drastic changes. They will go on in present-day channels to provide beneficial conditions outside Russia for reforms within the country. Russia will certainly not demonstrate whatever imperialist ambitions, reassured the Senator.

Russia's new Cabinet will focus efforts on economic updating, which is inconceivable if Russia finds itself in isolation.

Last but not least, scanty national resources will make the Kremlin concentrate its political and economic capital in the spheres of its greatest interest-in particular, preservation of Russia's available nuclear status, and membership of the United Nations Security Council and the G8, pointed out Mikhail Margelov.

Tomorrow will be the last day of his eventful mission. The visitor will discuss Russian-British relations, Mideastern settlement and certain other issues with Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Bill Rammell, Undersecretary for Russian affairs.

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