US secretary of state Hillary Clinton met senior Kremlin officials in Moscow today seeking Russian support for tougher sanctions against Iran.
President Barack Obama's decision to scrap plans for an anti-missile system located in eastern Europe has helped improve ties with Moscow after stormy relations under George W. Bush.
But diplomats say that in return the United States now wants better Russian cooperation on an array of foreign policy issues such as the US-led war in Afghanistan, missile defence and a nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Mrs Clinton did not attend a July summit between Mr Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev because of an injury but is finishing a European tour with a two-day visit to Russia.
"I had broken my elbow, but now both my elbow and our relationship are reset and we are moving forward which I greatly welcome," Mrs Clinton told her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the start of talks at a 19th century mansion in central Moscow.
The United States needs Russian support for a US push to impose sanctions on Iran, if talks between six major powers and Tehran over its nuclear plans end without resolution.
"The secretary (Clinton) will want to speak to Foreign Minister Lavrov and President Medvedev about what specific forms of pressure Russia would be prepared to join us and our other allies in if Iran fails to live up to its obligations," a senior State Department official told reporters yesterday.
Iran agreed at a meeting with six world powers in Geneva earlier this month to allow UN experts access to a newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.
Officials called the talks constructive, but Mrs Clinton warned on Sunday the world would not wait forever for Iran to prove it was not building nuclear bombs.
Russia has supported three sets of United Nations sanctions on Iran, though Western powers say Russian diplomats refused to agree to tougher measures against Tehran and Moscow has ruled out imposing oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Like Washington, Russia formally rejects any linkage between Iran and an anti-missile defence system. But most analysts say Moscow is likely to use Iran as a bargaining chip.