Russia says Obama's visit to Moscow successful

MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's just concluded visit to Moscow was a success and a breakthrough for bilateral relations, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Obama arrived in Moscow "with a businesslike and constructive approach," Andrei Nesterenko told a regular news briefing.

"The visit passed basically successfully. It turned out to be a breakthrough, just as we expected," said the diplomat.

Nesterenko said Russia was ready to cooperate with the United States on the missile defense system on condition that the cooperation is equitable.

"We are waiting for our U.S. partners to decide on the future of its missile defense launch site in Eastern Europe," he said.

Obama wrapped up his first official visit to Russia on Wednesday. The Russian-U.S. summit saw the signing of a series of documents including on nuclear arms control and anti-missile issue.

Russia and the United States agreed to work out a new nuclear weapons reduction deal by the year end. But Russia still insists on a linkage between the new treaty and the U.S. missile shield plans.

Media reports said the United States would continue to reassess the program by the end of the summer.