US Needs Russia For Iran, NKorea Nuke Deals

[Purveyor]

(09-24) 11:08 PDT NEW YORK, (AP) --

At a critical moment in the disputes over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, the Bush administration has found a newly emboldened Russia wielding uncomfortable leverage and the once promising partnership with Moscow in doubt.

The U.S. has lectured Russian leaders from afar since last month's war with U.S.-backed Georgia. On Wednesday Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confronts her Russian counterpart for the first time since the war.

Less than a week after she raised the stakes by publicly denouncing Russia's growing authoritarianism and aggression, Rice was making a personal appeal for Russian support on Iran, North Korea and other matters. The sit-down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly is the highest-level contact between the two nations since Russia invaded Georgia in a dispute over a separatist border region.

With Iran nearing the ability to arm a nuclear warhead and North Korea moving to restart a disabled atomic reactor, the United States needs Russia more than ever in the international efforts to eliminate the threats.

Russia on Tuesday scuttled high-level talks on imposing new sanctions on Iran that had been set for Thursday between the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. Even sanctions opponent China had agreed to the meeting.

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AP: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/24/national/a110829D72.DTL

[no_hypocrisy]

1. No, we don't. Condi said Russia was "irrelevant".

:sarcasm: