Obama & Medvedev in Bilateral Meeting Note Progress on START, Efforts with Iran

Stories we're following today:

Statements By President Obama and President Medvedev of Russia After Bilateral Meeting - Whitehouse.gov [link]

• As many of you know, in our first meeting when I traveled to Moscow, we arrived at an understanding that it made sense for our two countries to begin reducing further our nuclear stockpiles. Our negotiators have made excellent progress over the last several months.
• Our goal continues to be to complete the negotiations and to be able to sign a deal before the end of the year. And I'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urgency about it that we should be able to get that done.

Iran issue is key to Obama's other foreign policy goals - Gary Schmitt in the L.A. Times [link]

• In Cairo and at the U.N., Obama laid out bold ambitions for the world and a new profile for American leadership. The road to realize those ambitions, however, runs directly through Tehran. Getting Iran right is, of course, important in its own right. But solving the Iranian nuclear issue is no less important to the president's larger vision.

Russia delays Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station - Associated Press [link]

• Russia announced the latest delay to Iran's first nuclear power station on Monday, saying that technical issues would prevent its engineers from starting up the reactor at the Bushehr plant by the year-end.
• Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko stressed that politics had nothing to do with the decision, although the United States is seeking Moscow's help in pushing Tehran to allay Western fears about its nuclear program.

UN presses Iran on nuclear site - BBC News [link]

• The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a new report the delayed declaration of the plant raised concern about other possible secret sites.
• The IAEA report said the Qom plant "corresponds to the design information provided by Iran", AFP news agency reported. But it quoted the report as saying: "Iran's explanation about the purpose of the facility and the chronology of its design and construction requires further clarification."

The Lighter Side