US finds emboldened Russia holding the cards.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. has found an emboldened Russia wielding enormous leverage at a critical stage in disputes over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, a once-promising partnership with Moscow in doubt.
After a month of bitter exchanges over Russia's war with Georgia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came face-to-face Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discovered Moscow's cooperation on Iran and North Korea may no longer be a sure thing.
The atmosphere was awkward, but not chilly, for the highest-level contact between the two nations since Russia invaded Georgia in August in a dispute over a separatist border region, according to a senior U.S. official who was present.
"There was not shouting, table pounding or histrionics," said Daniel Fried, the top American diplomat for Europe. But neither Rice nor Lavrov were able to agree on anything beyond general statements of support for the Iran and North Korea efforts.
"This was a polite, thorough exchange of views where the disagreements were quite clear," Fried told reporters. Rice outlined the U.S. position on Russia's war with Georgia while Lavrov repeated Moscow's defense of its military action, he said.More.