The New ForeignPolicy.com
Global News : Passport : Ricks : Drezner : Walt : Rothkopf : Lynch
The Cable : The AfPak Blog : Net Effect : Shadow Govt. : Madam Secretary : The Call

Morning Brief: Clinton and Lavrov talk Iran

Tue, 10/13/2009 - 8:00am

Top story: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Iran's nuclear program. It is Clinton's first visit to Russia as secretary of state. While Lavrov insisted "our positions coincide," on the issue, but there were some differences in tone between the two.

Clinton agreed ruled out immediate sanctions, she said they may be inevitable "in the absence of significant progress and assurance that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons". Lavrov meanwhile dismissed threats of sanctions as counterproductive. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested last month, that further sanctions on Iran may be inevitable after the discovery of a previously unknown nuclear reactor near Qom.

Missile Defense was also on the agenda. Lavrov said that Russia had reviewed the United States' revamped missile defense plans but was noncommittal on proposals that the two countries cooperate. Lavrov and Clinton also reportedly discussed Afghanistan, NATO enlargement, and Georgia.

Nepotism scandal: Nicolas Sarkozy's son Jean has caused an uproar in France after announcing he would take control of a powerful government agency.

Asia

China and Russia signed trade deals with $3.5 million.
North Korea has agreed to talks with South Korea on flood control even as it continues to test-fire missiles.
Pakistani planes bombed militant targets in South Waziristan in preparation for a planned ground assault.

Middle East

Iranian authorities have opened an investigation of former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi.
Kurdistan has halted oil exports in a dispute with the Baghdad government.
Iraq's parliament has approved the return of a small number of British troops.

Europe

Britian is considering privatizing a range of government services in order to raise funds.
An appeals panel rejected former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's claim that he was granted immunity by U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke.
Italian police have arrested three in connection with Monday's bombing of a Milan army barracks.

Africa

A new report says over 1,000 civilians have been killed in eastern Congo this year.
Guinea's military junta confirmed that it has signed a massive energy and mining deal with China.
Gabon's constitutional court upheld Ali Ben Bongo's victory in August's disputed election.

Americas

Amnesty International accused Honduras's interim government of a litany of human rights abuses.
Mexican workers are holding protests in response to the government's decision to close a state-owned power utility.
A tropical storm is likely to hit the Western Coast of Mexico today or tomorrow.

ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

Joshua Keating | Permalink |