Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says U.S.-Russian relations will move forward if the United States gives up its plans for deploying a missile defense system in Central Europe. Mr. Putin stressed his country's readiness for effective cooperation. But he said relations will improve if the United States would give up what he termed "its bloc mentality" and halt its approach to expanding military alliances, a clear reference to NATO. His comments in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, came just days before U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart are to open a summit in Moscow. Thursday, in an interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Obama said Mr. Putin still has a lot of influence in Russia. The U.S. president and said he will tell Mr. Putin that old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations... [read full story]
