Russia

Colum Lynch does a whip count and reports the answer is yes: There are now 10 votes for Amb. Susan Rice’s sanctions package on Iran’s nuclear program, one more than necessary for passage. But it doesn’t look like it’ll be an easy fight. The Russians and the Chinese, both of whom [...]

Last December, after President Obama’s self-imposed deadline for direct, preconditionless negotiations with Iran expired without Iranian receptivity, administration officials told me they were gearing up to place economic sanctions on Iran as soon as they could arrange for international support. The New York Times reports that an actual sanctions package is now making its way [...]

I suppose Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s heart is in the right place, but, um.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday the Western military bloc is seeking greater Russian assistance for international operations in Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters after talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, Rasmussen said he was inviting Russia to step up its assistance in [...]

It’s Kazakh Independence Day! Quoth the secretary of state:

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Kazakhstan as they celebrate 18 years of independence on December 16. The partnership between our two nations is based on mutual respect and mutual interest, and it enhances the security [...]

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia expires on Saturday. U.S. and Russian negotiators have been working on a successor treaty to drastically reduce their nuclear arsenals, but they haven’t reached a final deal. So instead, according to a just-released joint statement from Presidents Obama and Medvedev, they’re going to act for [...]

In a move sure to increase Iran’s international isolation, not only is the Islamic republic showing every sign of rejecting the Vienna deal on uranium enrichment, but now President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces ten new enrichment facilities. The response from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:
“If true, this would be yet another serious violation of Iran’s [...]

As mentioned earlier this morning; now formally reported, per The Wall Street Journal:
Iran has formally asked for changes to an International Atomic Energy Agency proposal to ship nuclear fuel out of Iran for reprocessing abroad.
The response represents a setback in attempts by the international community to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Just last [...]

Whether it’s the one the United States, France, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency are offering is a different story. But the Iranian “president” has told state TV, in advance of a formal response expected to come Friday, that the basis for cooperation on the nuclear question is in place. The New York Times:
“Fortunately, [...]

Today is the day: about an hour ago, talks got underway in Vienna between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.S., Russia and France to see if an initial deal last month will indeed result in sending 75 percent of Iran’s low-enriched-uranium to Russia for reprocessing into fuel, which would be a concrete step [...]

In Geneva, where the U.S. delegation has arrived in advance of tomorrow’s multilateral negotiation with Iran’s nuclear program, senior U.S. diplomats set expectations for the talks in a background briefing for reporters. The key points: the disclosure of the hidden nuclear facility at Qom has “strengthened the sense of purpose and unity amongst the 5+1 [...]