“We should not take any unilateral steps. It is not acceptable to opt for a military scenario. It would be dangerous,” President Medvedev said Friday at the Valdai Club, which sees journalists and academics specializing on Russia.

His remarks come as speculation runs high that Israel and the US are drawing up plans to launch a military strike against Iran in a bid to hamper the country’s nuclear program.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested last week that should Iran continue with its uranium enrichment program, it could be attacked by Israel.
“We could find one morning that Israel has struck (Iran),” said the French president, adding that no one would question the legitimacy of such an act of aggression.

Judge Chris Nicholson’s ruling included biting criticism of prosecutors and of political leaders all the way up to President Thabo Mbeki, saying there was reason to believe the decision to charge Zuma was politically motivated.

Nicholson upheld Zuma’s complaints that he should have been consulted before the National Prosecuting Authority decided to resurrect corruption charges against him in 2007 in connection with a huge arms scandal that has dogged South Africa for the past decade.

As head of the ruling African National Congress party, Zuma is likely to run for president next year when Mbeki’s second and last term ends. The ANC’s political dominance all but assures its leader of victory in the presidential race.

The decision to “prosecute the applicant is invalid and is set aside,” the High Court judge said, concluding a two-hour reading of his ruling.

The Foreign Secretary was apparently given a furious dressing down by Sergei Lavrov over the telephone.

Mr Miliband’s criticism of Russia’s recent incursion into Georgia is believed to have sparked the colourful tirade.
One unconfirmed report suggested that Mr Lavrov said: ‘Who are you to f*** lecture me?’

A Whitehall insider told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It was effing this and effing that. It was not what you would call diplomatic language. It was rather shocking.’

The incident came as an equally belligerent Vladimir Putin told media that Russia had to invade Georgia: ‘What did you expect us to do? Respond with a catapult? We punched the aggressor in the face.’
Mr Miliband had allegedly been putting forward Britain and Europe’s objections to Russia’s incursion into the breakaway region of South Ossetia last month.

It is also understood that Mr Lavrov grilled Mr Miliband on Britain and America’s invasion of Iraq as part of his response to the Foreign Secretary’s criticism.

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