The US and Russian presidents meet at an Asia-Pacific summit here Sunday with Barack Obama eager to secure Moscow's backing to break the stand-off over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Obama will want to hear from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev whether the Kremlin detects any signs of Tehran moderating its defiance and whether Russia will back tough sanctions if diplomacy fails.
But in their fourth meeting since April, Medvedev will also be seeking assurances from Obama that Russian concerns will be addressed in a new nuclear weapons reduction treaty that both sides are racing to agree by December. Russia has the strongest ties with Iran of any major power, and its capacity to provide technical help for the Iranian nuclear drive is seen by some analysts as giving it an unmatched power of leverage in Tehran.
Medvedev's chief foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko confirmed that the Iranian nuclear question would be discussed at the meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum in Singapore. An Obama administration official said that aside from Iran and the nuclear arms treaty, the two leaders would also dwell on North Korea's own nuclear quest. Obama and Medvedev are scheduled to meet on the margins of Apec on Sunday afternoon, shortly before the US president leaves Singapore for a state visit to China.
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