Q+A: Issues in U.S.-Russia ties for Clinton meeting

(Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva on Friday in the first formal high-level talks between the two countries since President Barack Obama took office in January.

Below are some of the main issues in relations.

CAN U.S.-RUSSIA RELATIONS IMPROVE?

The Kremlin says it is ready to widen cooperation with the Obama administration after relations sank to a post-Cold War low during the presidency of George W. Bush.

The new U.S. administration has said it wants to "press the reset button" on relations with Moscow and has focused on Afghanistan, missile defense, nuclear disarmament and Iran as areas where movement is possible.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said that if Obama changes U.S. policies toward Russia, Moscow will quickly respond.

WILL THEY DISCUSS NUCLEAR WEAPONS CUTS?

Russia and the United States are discussing ways to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), which will expire in December this year.

The talks are still at a very early stage. Lavrov said a discussion on strategic arms control will be a priority at the Clinton meeting.

WHAT ABOUT AFGHANISTAN?

The United States is considering plans to nearly double the size of its military presence in Afghanistan and wants Russian help in providing alternative supply routes, particularly as militants have attacked convoys using the routes via Pakistan.

Russian officials believe that unless the Taliban are contained, militant Islamism could spread through the ex-Soviet states of Central Asia and ultimately reach Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia is interested in stepping up cooperation on Afghanistan and Moscow has agreed to let the United States send non-lethal military supplies across its territory by land.

ARE RELATIONS WITH NATO IMPROVING?

NATO is viewed with great suspicion in Russia, where officials say expansion eastwards shows the alliance forged during the Cold War is being used by the United States and key European powers to counter Russian influence.

Russia has fiercely resisted proposals -- led by the Bush administration -- to bring ex-Soviet countries Georgia and Ukraine into the NATO military alliance.

NATO has said Georgia and Ukraine will join eventually but has declined to give them Membership Action Plans, which would have set out a road map for their accession.

Ministers from 26 NATO states this week agreed to resume formal ties with Russia that were curbed last year after Moscow's war with Georgia.

CAN THEY FIND A TRADE-OFF ON IRAN AND MISSILE Defense?

The Kremlin says Russia is open to overtures from Washington on the proposed U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe, but Medvedev dismissed the idea that Washington and Moscow were seeking some sort of trade-off between Iran and missile defense.

Washington has indicated it could back off from plans to deploy the system if Moscow helps to stop Iran developing long-range weapons. Russia says the West should be wary of forcing Iran into a corner.

Russia has said it will not implement plans to station short-range missiles in its enclave of Kaliningrad bordering Poland if the United States decides not to deploy its anti-missile system.

(Reporting by Conor Sweeney and Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Andrew Roche)