Obama-Medvedev summit in Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The following are comments from U.S. President Barack Obama and Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev at a summit in Moscow on Monday.

ON GLOBAL MISSILE Defense

Medvedev:

"We need to jointly think about configuration of the global missile defense."

ON GEORGIA

Obama:

"I won't pretend that the United States and Russia agree on every issue. President Medvedev indicated that we have had frank discussion on some areas where we disagree."

"For instance, we had frank discussion on Russia, I mean Georgia, and I re-iterated my firm belief that Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. If even as we work through our disagreements on Georgia's course, we do agree that no one has interest in renewed military conflict. Going forward, we must speak candidly to resolve these differences peacefully and constructively."

"President Medvedev and I are committed to leaving behind the suspicion and rivalry of the past."

OBAMA ON POWER DIVISION IN RUSSIA

Obama:

"My understanding is that President Medvedev is the president and Prime Minister Putin is the prime minister and that they allocate power in accordance with Russia's form of government, in the same way that we allocate power in the United States.

"My strong impression is that President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin are working very effectively together and our interest is in working together with the Russian government as a whole in order to achieve the improved bilateral relationship that I think can be accomplished.

ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION

Medvedev:

"The non-proliferation issue is the most important for our states. We are bearing the responsibility. Unfortunately the situation in the world is not changing for the better."

"There are regions where the presence of nuclear weapons may create colossal problems and in these areas we should most closely work with our partners."

ON AFGHANISTAN

Obama:

"Second, we have taken important steps forward to strengthen our security through greater cooperation."

"President Medvedev and I have agreed on the need to combat the threat of violent extremism, particularly from Al-Qaeda."

"This (today's agreement) is a substantial contribution by Russia to an international effort. It will save the United States time and resources for giving our troops the support they need."

ON IRAN

Obama:

"Iran also poses a serious challenge, due to its failure to live up to international obligations."

"This is not just a problem for the United States but raises the prospect of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East which would endanger global security, while Iran's ballistic missile program could pose a threat to the entire region."

"That's why I'm pleased that we've agreed on a joint statement on cooperation."

ON NORTH KOREA

Obama:

"North Korea has abandoned its own commitments and violated international law and that's why I'm pleased Russia has joined us in the UN security council resolution that calls for strong steps."

ON MISSILE Defense

Medvedev:

"We have agreed that defensive and offensive weapons should be viewed as a whole ... We made a joint statement on missile defense although we have differences on a range of positions."

"Of course, the missile defense, speaking more precisely, not the missile defense but the issue of the third positioning region is a complicated topic... From my side I would like to note, in our memorandum of understanding we are talking about a link between offensive and defensive weapons and this is already a step forward."

"No one is saying that missile defense is harmful in itself or that it poses a threat to someone. Quite the contrary, it is aimed at solving a number of strategic tasks. The question is to peg this or that configuration of missile defense to interests of other countries."

"And what I would like to highlight is that our American partners -- in contrast with what was happening in the past years -- have taken a pause and are studying the situation and based on this will formulate their final position."

"So at least it is a step forward to reach a compromise on this quite difficult problem."

"Because before all we were hearing was that all decisions have been made and they have nothing to do with you but they are not a threat to you."

ON NUCLEAR ARMS TREATY

Obama:

"We've taken important steps forward to increase nuclear security and to stop the spread of nuclear weapons ... We have signed a joint understanding for a follow-on treaty on the START agreement which will reduce our warheads and delivery systems by up to a third from our current treaty limitations. This legally binding treaty will be completed by the end of this year."

(Compiled by Amie Ferris-Rotman, Alfred Kueppers, Gleb Bryanski and Denis Dyomkin; Editing by Charles Dick)