Meetings that Russian fm Sergei Lavrov conducted recently in Washington with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were called “frank” and “candid,” meaning that the two sides are thrashing out disagreeme-nts about Kremlin’s hosting of Iranian nuclear negotiators and leaders of the Palestinian movement Hamas.

President Vladimir Putin can promote Russia’s commercial interest in completing the nuclear power plant under construction in Bushehr, Iran, and selling more such plants to the Iranians. But Putin cannot be permitted to pursue these Russian interests at the price of breaking ranks with the West. If Russia sticks to its helpful offer to enrich uranium on Russian soil for use in Iran’s nuclear power plants, Putin will be entitled to expect Western consideration for key Russian interests. But Putin should expect no such consideration if the Kremlin backs a scheme that would let Iran conduct the uranium enrichment programme.

There is nothing wrong unless Putin sabotages the Mideast road map. That means a firm demand that Hamas honour all its previous agreements. It won’t be easy to cultivate balanced cooperation between Russia and the US. Both are accustomed to going it alone. But they need each other too much today to fall back on old patterns of superpower swagger.