China hosted a unique summit of sorts last week.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Beijing Thursday to discuss the nuclear pursuits of Iran, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
This prelude to a series of meetings scheduled for June 18 and 19 hosted by Russia of the globe's major powers in Moscow may have been a last true option for cornering the Iranian dictator.
Putin, re-elected president after three terms and a four-year run as prime minister, has warned against military action against Iran with the foretold "catastrophe in the Middle East." Russia recently participated in a meeting with the U.S., Britain, China, France and Germany to confront the Iranians on the rogue nation's uranium enrichment program. The Russian assessment, along that of the other five world powers, was described as "not too happy" by a foreign policy aide to Moscow, Yury Ushakov.
The gathering in China featured not only the much-tenured, "elected" Putin, but also "all the major names of Russian business," according to Ushakov. This Russian delegation's forceful show hopefully will be effective with Iran, which is dependent upon its economic ties and trade with both Russia and China in a symbiotic relationship.
As Putin criticizes the recent action of the U.S. Congress to increase economic sanctions on Iran, he also is expressing displeasure with Iran's rebellious continued pursuit.
If Russia and China are unsuccessful in slowing Iran's uranium enrichment program that will boost its ability to weaponize its current arsenal, expect Iran's stubbornness to be matched with equal determination by Israel to act.
The repeated, unsuccessful efforts to deal with Iran's Ahmadinejad may result in a situation that's summarized by humorist Will Rogers' quote about diplomacy:
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock."