Via Bloomberg:

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Beijing on June 6 or June 7 before world powers gather in Moscow to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

The meeting with Ahmadinejad will allow Putin to “feel the heat surrounding the Iranian problem and how this issue is perceived in Tehran,” Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to the U.S. who advises Putin on foreign policy, told reporters in Moscow yesterday.

The Ahmadinejad meeting foreshadows an international round of talks about Iran’s atomic program in Moscow on June 18-19, the third attempt in three months to address global concerns that Iran is developing atomic weapons. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and is seeking relief from the economic sanctions the U.S. and European Union have imposed.

“We weren’t too happy with the results of the last round of talks, but we determined the mutual readiness to continue the discussion,” Ushakov said. At the Moscow meeting, Russia will “promote the thought that Iran’s right to develop peaceful energy under the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency should be approved.”