The complex bilateral and international context has enlarged and sharpened what would have been a comprehensive summit agenda in any event. Two sets of issues are likely to dominate. The first concerns the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, with the purported link to international terrorism and the Iraq war. This goes to the heart of the bilateral relationship and will greatly influence its atmospherics over the coming months.
Bush will increase the pressure on Moscow to end, or at least reduce, its assistance to Iran’s nuclear energy programme, while President Vladimir Putin will seek assurances that after Iraq the US will refrain from weapons of mass destruction-related preemptive action in Iran, Syria and North Korea. Putin will reiterate that Washington should engage in direct dialogue with Pyongyang.
