MR. MCCORMACK: Good morning. I don't have anything to start off with by way of a statement. So I'd be happy to take your questions.

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QUESTION: Can we talk a little bit about the political directors meeting tomorrow? What are you hoping is going to emerge from this meeting at the end? Is the goal here to come up with a list of sanctions?

And then secondly, in terms of the timing of the Secretary's speech, it's sort of interesting that she chose to give the speech today, you know, the week before - just before she's about to go to the UN General Assembly and before the meeting tomorrow, when you really do need Russia's support. Don't you think speeches like this are going to antagonize Russia and put them into another corner of a - maybe first the practical issues of what you -

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, in terms - it'll be a discussion about how to move the two-track policy forward. Russia, as well as all the member states of the P-5+1, have made certain commitments regarding what steps to take next should Iran not comply with the demands of the Security Council and cooperate with the IAEA. Iran has done neither of those things. So the agreement is to move forward with a new sanctions resolution and we'll discuss that.

Now I can't tell you how far that discussion will get. Typically, around the time of the UN General Assembly, you don't get much progress on these kinds of high-profile issues, shall we say, in the Security Council. It just doesn't happen year to year to year. So I would expect that this is probably a discussion that is - will be aimed at seeing where each of the individual states within the P-5+1 are with respect to timeline and moving forward, as well as the content of what a new resolution might look like.

And look, in terms of - you know, in terms of, you know, Russia's or anybody else's cooperation or, you know, non-cooperation with trying to prevent Iran from developing the technologies that will allow it to obtain a nuclear weapon, that's not doing us a favor. I think everybody agrees that Iran possessing a nuclear weapon would be a very destabilizing event for the Middle East. So trying to prevent that from happening and to reinforce and uphold global nonproliferation norms is not a favor to the United States or France or Germany or anybody else. That is acting in the interest of the international system.

QUESTION: And then President Ahmadinejad said today that - once again, he said Iran would not suspend its - the nuclear - whatever you want him to suspend. And he really sort of brushed aside threats of sanctions and said that it was - really had - wouldn't have any impact on them and that those who wanted to put sanctions do so because of their own weaknesses, is what he said. I just wondered whether you had any comment on his latest utterances.

MR. MCCORMACK: More of the same, sadly, for Iran and the Iranian people.

Samir.

QUESTION: Do you know if the Russians are going to attend the meeting tomorrow of the P-5+1?

MR. MCCORMACK: I believe they will.

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