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Jul 03 2009

Obama: Russia must freshen outlook

Global

By Agencies

Putin, pictured, has mixed old and new approaches in his political strategy, Obama said [AFP]

The US president has cautioned Russia's government against using "old Cold War approaches" when dealing with Washington, saying that such strategies are outdated.

Barack Obama said, in an interview with the Associated Press news agency, that Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, "has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".

Obama acknowledged that while Putin "still has sway" in Russia, Washington is forging a "very good relationship" with Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's successor as president.

Obama dismissed notions that Moscow has sought to complicate US efforts to engage with North Korea and Iran over their respective nuclear programmes.

The Russian government has provided "good co-operation" with the US administration in addressing issues with Pyongyang and Tehran, he said.

Obama is scheduled to leave next week on a trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana.

Iran nuclear concerns

Iran's nuclear file risks starting an arms race across the Middle East, Obama said [AFP]

Obama also said that a nuclear-armed Iran could spark an arms race in the Middle East, which would "a recipe for potential disaster".

Western states have repeatedly expressed concerns that Iran is developing a nuclear programme with the sole aim of building an atomic bomb.

Tehran has denied that is working on a nuclear-weapons project and has said its programme is only geared towards producing electricity.

Obama also spoke about the presence of US troops in Afghanistan, saying that will he reassess whether to send more soldiers after the Afghan national elections in August.

The US is aiming to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a firm base for al-Qaeda, from which it can prepare for attacks on the US or its allies, he said.

Troops from the US and the Nato military alliance must provide help to Afghanistan's security forces and assist in securing the Afghan-Pakistani border, he said.

Obama said that he has the right to change the US troop withdrawal timetable in Iraq, while expressing confidence that Washington will observe agreements made with Baghdad.