Russian PM calls on U.S. to shelve missile shield: media
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the United States to move relations forward by shelving plans for a missile defense shield in Europe, news agencies reported.
Days before a visit to Moscow by U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin was quoted as saying if Washington changed its approach to expanding military alliances -- a clear reference to NATO -- it would also move relations forward with Moscow.
"If we see (that) our American partners refrain from deploying new missile complexes, anti-missile defense systems, or for example review their approach to widening military-political blocs, or generally refrain from bloc-like thinking, this would be a big movement forward," Interfax quoted Putin as telling reporters.
The comments come ahead of Obama's visit to Moscow on July 6-8. Obama is expected to meet both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin.
"We are ready for effective cooperation, we really expect a lot of the new administration," Putin said on an agricultural inspection in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, writing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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