The only chance for a solution to the Iran nuclear problem, short of war, is for a united West to apply relentless economic pressure.
Now the 12 June gathering is being billed as the last chance for a solution involving all 42 senior clubs.
Some Administration officials say the chances for a diplomatic solution have been increasing, however slightly, as the prospect of military action comes closer.
Russia may find it harder to stave off international action against Syria, which it has done so far using its veto at the United Nations Security Council, as the chances for a political solution seem to recede.
Japan's Ambassador to Baghdad, Kunio Katakura, said in an interview this week that he felt a growing pessimism about the chances for a diplomatic solution, because "the gap is so great" between the minimum requirements of both sides before they will pull back from their vows to go to war if necessary over Iraq's occupation of its smaller neighbor.
The higher the similarity between contexts, the smaller the knowledge gap and instantiation uncertainty and the higher the chances for a successful solution to a new problem.
The Russian U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, complained that Western nations had undermined the chance for a political solution by "pushing the opposition towards power". The U.N. resolution would have condemned the Syrian government's "widespread and gross violations of human rights". Russia sought equal condemnation of Assad's armed opponents, a stance deplored as "reprehensible" by Rice.
There is a chance for a political solution through the UN envoy, who simplified the equation accurately when he said that there can be no solution except when the Yemeni and other parties agree to compromise.
Chances for a two-state solution will become even more remote.
