TODAY: Russia relenting on Iran sanctions; calls missile defense decision constructive; arms reductions talks are apparently progressing apace; Medvedev urges for Middle East arms cuts too.  Island cooperation for Japan and Russia; Georgia undecided on Guantanamo guests; Poland – officially – condemns Soviet invasion. Moscow mayor doesn’t take criticism lightly.

President Medvedev has apparently agreed following talks with Barack Obama to consider sanctions if Iran does not agree to transparency about its nuclear program. ‘Sanctions rarely lead to productive results but in some cases are inevitable’, the Russian president has said.  ‘The sanctions Medvedev has in mind might fall far short of those that the White House are thinking of’, suggests a piece in the Guardian.  The turnaround is ‘a reward to President Barack Obama’s decision to scale back a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe’ argues an article in the New York Times.  Medvedev has again lauded the move on missile defence ‘as a constructive step in the right direction’.  ‘Other nuclear states should join the disarmament efforts of Russia and the United States’, Medvedev added, highlighting the necessity of the Middle East becoming a WMD-free zone.  Ria-Novosti reports that the new START treaty is apparently on schedule and likely to be ready before the current pact expires.  The US Embassy in Moscow has complained to the Russian Foreign Ministry about a fabricated sex tape that US officials call a ‘smear campaign’ against Kyle Hatcher, a married diplomatic liaison to Russian religious and human rights groups.