US Secretary of State Colin Powell failed today to win Kremlin support for proposals to end United Nations sanctions against Iraq in spite of warm words on improving relations between the two nations.
One sticking point is Russia's demand that UN inspectors return to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction, whose yet-to-be-proved existence was Washington's key justification for the invasion of Iraq, which has strained relations.
"With respect to Iraq, there are some outstanding issues and we will be working these issues in a spirit of partnership and trying to come to a solution," Mr Powell told reporters after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Other contentious issues are the role of the UN special representative in Iraq, control of the oil sales and revenue.
Russian state and private firms signed contracts worth billions of dollars with the ousted Iraq government of Saddam Hussein to develop the country's huge oil reserves.
Moscow fears losing the deals, but Washington says oil contracts are up to the next Iraqi government.
Russia and France, both veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, opposed the US-led war on Iraq and are uneasy about the occupying powers taking broad authority.
But US officials say the debate will not be so divisive as that over a UN Security Council resolution on attacking Iraq which died after Russia and France threatened to veto it.
In a clear gesture to efforts to bring the former Cold War enemies back on track, Russia's State Duma chose the day of MR Powell's visit to ratify a new US-Russia nuclear arms treaty.
The so-called Treaty of Moscow, signed by Mr Putin and US President George W. Bush a year ago and already ratified by US Congress, will cut the number of deployed nuclear arsenals.