RUSSIAN FOREIGN minister Sergei Lavrov said a thaw in relations with the US creates hope for progress on nuclear arms control and other key issues when President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev meet next week.
Mr Lavrov yesterday suggested that the US was moving away from the confrontational policies of the administration of George W Bush.
“Practically on any problematic issue which we inherited from the past eight years, I understand the Obama administration is undertaking a review, which we welcome. A second opinion never hurts, not only in medicine but also in politics,” he said.
“There is always a place for hope and, certainly, when we hear signals from Washington that they want to ‘reset’ our relations, meaning that they want constructive engagement and co-operation and partnership on so many issues which we really can usefully co-operate on, we welcome this,” Mr Lavrov said, referring to a term used by US vice-president Joe Biden, who said Washington wanted to “hit the reset button” with Moscow.
In a symbolic gesture, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton subsequently presented Mr Lavrov with a model reset button.
Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev are due to meet in London on April 1st for their first presidential summit at the G20 meeting.
There have been few substantive policy changes in Russia-US ties, but the positive tone from both sides could help establish more common ground in relations strained to near breaking point by the conflict between Russia and Georgia.
The two countries also disagree on US plans for a ballistic missile shield in eastern Europe and on Moscow’s support for Iran, which Mr Lavrov called Russia’s “historic neighbour, historic partner”.
He reiterated opposition to the use of force against Iran’s nuclear programme: “I certainly believe there is no violent solution to this problem,” he said, describing Mr Obama’s video message last week to Iranians calling for better relations as a “very welcome step”.
Mr Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s hostility to Nato expansion into former Soviet Union states. “With the latest expansion of Nato, do people in Europe feel more secure? Why this drive to mark geopolitical space which some people believed became vacant?”
Mr Lavrov also called for united action by the G20 on the financial crisis. "Some may be tempted to take care of themselves only, expecting to get unilateral benefits at the stage of post-crisis global development. I doubt that would work." – ( Financial Timesservice)