ARTICLE: Russia Says Sanctions Against Iran Are Unlikely, By CLIFFORD J. LEVY, New York Times, September 10, 2009

You may not care for the Iranian counterproposals (I thought it was a clever package designed to provide just enough cover to thwart sanctions), and the U.S. may well choose to try and act on that basis, but the news from Moscow is not favorable, and once Moscow declares, it gets that much easier for Beijing to follow suit.

And with Putin warning about strikes, I think we're looking at a lot of talking to no particular end.