MOSCOW, Aug 26: The top US diplomat for arms control left Moscow empty-handed on Tuesday after reportedly failing to convince Russia in two days of secretive talks to halt or even slow down its nuclear cooperation with Iran.

The issue has dogged Russian-US relations for years and is likely to surface again at next month’s Camp David summit between presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin — just as it did during their last meeting in Saint Petersburg on June 1.

John Bolton, the US under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, spent two days in Moscow holding talks with senior Russian officials responsible for non-proliferation and nuclear issues.

Part of the talks focused on Wednesday’s key six-way meeting on the North Korean nuclear crisis — in which Bolton will not take part — but much of the attention was also given to Russia’s decision to press ahead with construction of Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr.

The US fears that Iran is using the project to secretly develop a nuclear weapons programme. Moscow counters that Tehran may be building such a programme with Western companies’ help.—AFP