Moscow: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Moscow to meet with senior Russian officials and to join top international diplomats in assessing the stalled Middle East peace process.
Hillary arrived in the Russian capital on Thursday morning after an overnight flight from Washington. She is to be joined later by the Obama administration's special envoy for Middle East peace, George Mitchell.
Hillary’s aides said she will discuss a range of issues with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, including negotiations on a new US-Russian nuclear weapons treaty.
On Friday, Hillary will participate in a meeting of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers, comprising the US, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.
‘Clinton, Putin to meet in Russia on Friday’
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday in a last-minute addition to her visit to Moscow, a US official told reporters.
Clinton arrived in Russia on Thursday to try to clear obstacles to a new treaty cutting arsenals of nuclear weapons and to win Moscow's backing for tougher sanctions against Iran.
Diplomats said that no significant breakthrough on either issue was likely without the agreement of Putin, widely seen as Russia's most powerful politician.
Putin was out of the country when Clinton visited last October. Putin's office on Wednesday said that no meeting with Clinton was planned.
The meeting will take place at Putin's residence near the Russian capital, the US official said on condition of anonymity.
Clinton met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday and was due to meet President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday. She was also due to take part in a meeting of Middle East mediators.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 21:33