Russia to host Obama

Moscow is preparing to host US President Barack Obama on a visit it is hoped will improve relations between the two superpowers.

In a video blog on the Kremlin’s website, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it was time to
set aside the power politics of the past:

“Unfortunately, relations between our two countries have worsened over the past years. A crisis of confidence, lack of action, unwillingness to take any new steps – call it what you will, but the fact remains that, although our presidents had a good personal rapport, Russia-US relations declined to a level practically on a par with the Cold War era.”

Obama also plans to meet Vladimir Putin, in recognition of what analysts are calling Russia’s “tandemocracy”, or double leadership.

On being asked why he intended to meet the prime minister, Obama said: “Prime Minister Putin still has a lot of sway in Russia and I think it is important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev, that Putin understands that the old Cold War approach to US-Russian relations is outdated.”

Talks will likely be dominated by two key issues already discussed at their first meeting in London, where Medvedev and Obama committed themselves to cooperating on further nuclear arms cuts and the conflict in Afghanistan.

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tags: Barack Obama, Russia, USA