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The Obama administration's announcement last month that it was scrapping plans to build missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic removed a prime irritant in the U.S.-Russian relationship; Russians felt the missile defense network was targeted as much at them as against the purported threat, Iran. And the move appeared at first to pay dividends. Days later, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia might support sanctions against Iran, a significant shift in policy and a concession to the United States.

But Washington's hopes took a hit last week. First, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov appeared to walk back that shift, saying, "Threats, sanctions, and threats of pressure in the current situation, we are convinced, would be counterproductive." Visiting China the next day, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called talk of sanctions against Iran "premature." The snub was sharper because Lavrov's comments came shortly after he met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Moscow, where she had traveled to discuss a host of issues, including Iran, with Russian leaders. Russian media reported that Michael McFaul, a National Security Council expert on Russia who accompanied Clinton, said the United States would back off of criticism of Moscow's human rights record, another annoyance to Russia.