Putin Arrives in Iran for Historic Visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, gestures as she and Russian President Vladimir Putin review the honour guards at the Kurhaus resort garden in Wiesbaden, Germany, Monday, Oct. 15, 2007. Putin is on a two-day visit to Germany for talks between Germany and Russia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) (Anja Niedringhaus - AP)

"Putin's trip to Tehran is a show of Russia's independence in global affairs. Putin, who approaches the end of his term, wants to demonstrate that he wouldn't cave in to the U.S. pressure," said Alexander Pikayev, an expert on Iran with Russia's Institute for World Economy and International Relations.

Putin emphasized Monday that he would negotiate in Tehran on behalf of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members _ United States, Russia, China, Britain and France _ and Germany, a group that has led efforts to resolve the stalemate with Tehran.

He said the group "can and must be patient" in dealing with the Iranian leadership.

"If we have a chance to maintain such direct contact, we will do it expecting a positive and, I will stress, joint result," Putin said. "Because Russia has worked and intends to continue to work with partners in Europe and the United States to achieve a common goal."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the U.S. government expected Putin to "convey the concerns shared by all of us about the failure of Iran to comply with the international community's requirements concerning its nuclear program."

Putin's schedule called for meetings with hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He also was to participate in a meeting Tuesday of the leaders of nations bordering the Caspian Sea, which are arguing over division of its oil.

While the Kremlin has shielded Tehran from a U.S. push for a third round of U.N. sanctions, Iran has voiced annoyance about Moscow's foot-dragging in building a nuclear power plant in the southern port of Bushehr under a $1 billion contract.

Russia warned early this year that the plant wouldn't be launched this fall as planned because Iran was slow in making payments. Iranian officials have angrily denied any payment arrears and accused the Kremlin of caving in to Western pressure.

Moscow also has ignored Iranian demands to ship fuel for the plant, saying it would be delivered only six months before the Bushehr plant goes on line. The launch date has been delayed indefinitely amid the payment dispute.

Any sign by Putin that Russia could quickly complete the power plant would embolden Iran and further cloud Russia's relations with the West.

But Putin's trip would be important for Iran even if it yielded no agreements. "It's a break in international isolation, a chance to show that Iran is an important country," Pikayev, the analyst, told the AP.

Iranian media also emphasized the importance of Putin's trip. "Iran can use the visit to lobby for getting our nuclear dossier out of the U.N. Security Council and Russia can strengthen its opposition to the U.S. through boosting ties with Tehran," the hard-line newspaper Resalat said in an editorial.

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran and David McHugh in Wiesbaden, Germany, contributed to this report.