British Labour Party leader Miliband meets with Obama

Reuters
Britain's leader of the opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband speaks to the media outside his home, following nationwide local election results, in London May 23, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Neil Hall

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband met U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday and said they had a wide-ranging discussion touching on relations with Russia and the Ukraine crisis. Obama dropped by a meeting that Miliband had scheduled with White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Miliband, whose Labour Party is expected to run a close race with the Conservatives led by Prime Minister David Cameron in elections next May, was in Washington for a roundtable discussion at the Center for American Progress think tank. Miliband appeared before TV cameras outside the White House after his meeting and said he and Obama discussed the downing of a Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine, as well as clashes between Israel and the Palestinians and European affairs. "It was a wide-ranging and good conversation," said Miliband, who took no questions from reporters. (Reporting By Steve Holland; editing by David Storey)