Obama´s visit to Russia scheduled

Source: Xinhua | 05-12-2009 09:07

MOSCOW, May 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will pay a formal visit to Russia on July 6-8, at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, said the Kremlin website on Monday.

Obama held the first face-to-face meeting with Medvedev on the sidelines of the G20 London summit in early April, in an effort to reset ties strained during the previous U.S. administration under George W. Bush.

The leaders pledged in a joint statement after their talks at that time to negotiate a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) by the end of the year.

Earlier reports said that during the July visit to Moscow, Obama will hear from the negotiators the first results on the new agreement.

When meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Washington on Thursday, Obama said the United States and Russia can narrow their differences over nuclear weapons.

"We have an excellent opportunity to reset the relationship between the United States and Russia on a whole host of issues," Obama said.