Article Posted on : - Nov 10, 2008

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a telephonic talk with the US president-elect Barack Obama on Saturday

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country hoped for a more constructive dialogue with the Barack Obama administration about the deployment of US Missile Defence Shield (MDS) in Europe.

Speaking in Sharm El-Sheikh, Lavrov said that accords on strategic offensive arms and missile shield elements would surely be finally approved by the new US administration. “We drew attention to the positions, which Barack Obama published on his website. They instill the hope that we’ll be able to discuss these issues more constructively,” Lavrov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a telephonic talk with the US president-elect Barack Obama. Medvedev congratulated Obama on his impressive victory in the presidential election and the convincing success of the Democratic Party. Obama will be assuming office on January 20 next year.

During the discussion both sides emphasised that relations between Russia and the US were of prime importance for both the countries and also to the international community.

They noted that as the world was faced with serious problems of global nature that require harmonious efforts between all countries, Russia and the US face common challenges and bear a shared responsibility.

Both the leaders expressed their desire to engage in constructive and positive interaction for the benefit of international stability and development. It is hoped that to take this understanding further, both the leaders would be holding a bilateral meeting in the near future.

Ties between Russia and the US have nosedived to a post-Cold War low in recent years over a host of differences, including the deployment of a US missile defence system in Central Europe and a brief conflict in August between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, a Georgian breakaway republic.

Russia has time and again expressed its opposition to the US plans to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and accompanying radar in the Czech Republic, saying they threaten Russia's national security.