A fascinating interview with Sergei Ivanov (from Moscow), a former

long-serving Defence Minister and a member of Putin's Inner Circle, on HardTalk, tonight.

His demeanour was very dignified and buttoned-up, until Stephen Sackur quoted to him a "pronunciamento" of our Nu Labor Young Pretender, David Miliband, and from then on he couldn't really keep a smile off his face. Well, it would have required a totally superhuman effort - even from such a seasoned veteran of the highest reaches of political power.

Apparently, Miliband said that Russia's actions amounted to "a reversion not just to Cold War politics, but to 19th Century politics", and said Dimitry Medvedev, the Russian President, must understand there would be serious political consequences to his response to Georgia's attempt to reclaim South Ossetia, a separatist province on the Russian border."

The Guardian's Robert Fox put the reality of the matter succinctly in this final paragraph of his article, today:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/13/georgia.foreignpolicy