TODAY: Positive outcome in Iraq-Russia meeting; Moscow will not sideline Iran; Saakashvili attempts to weather the storm; recount in Moldova; anti-Kremlin protests on Cosmonauts day

The ‘very successful‘ meeting between Nouri al-Maliki and Prime Minister Putin saw the Iraqi Prime Minister guarantee the protection of investments in Iraq.  Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, says the Kremlin is feeling a ‘cautious optimism’ about renewed relations with the US, although Russian pressure on Iran is by no means a foregone conclusion.  Lavrov has also voiced concerns about NATO, saying last year’s ‘Caucasus crisis showed how dangerous the automatic eastward expansion of NATO is.’  NATO divisions over how to deal with Russia are the subject of an article in the New York Times.  Despite mass protests against his leadership, according to the Telegraph, Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, has claimed he retains Western support, and welcomes the US-Russia ‘reset’.  Russia will buy Israeli drones, following the disappointing results of their own weapons in last summer’s incursion, reports the BBC.