By Jeff Mason
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on Tuesday for the United States and Russia to put the remnants of Cold War enmity firmly in the past and forge a true global partnership as he pressed his effort to reset strained ties.
"This must be more than a fresh start between the Kremlin and the White House," Obama said on the second day of a Moscow summit. "It must be a sustained effort among the American and Russian people to identify mutual interests, and to expand dialogue and cooperation."
Obama sought to reassure sometimes sceptical Russians of his vision for better relations between Washington and Moscow but acknowledged continued differences between the two countries on issues such missile defence and NATO expansion.
"It won't be easy. It is difficult to forge a lasting partnership between former adversaries and to change habits that have been ingrained in our governments for decades," he said in a wide-ranging speech at a Moscow university. But he insisted that "we share common ground."
He spoke after a somewhat awkward first meeting with Russia's most powerful politician, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose personal rapport with Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, did not prevent the slide in relations in recent years.
Obama and Putin exchanged pleasantries at the start of talks at Putin's residence outside Moscow overshadowed by Obama's criticism of the Russian leader last week in a pre-trip interview as a man with one foot stuck in the Cold War.
Obama's meeting with Putin, a former KGB spy who served as president from 2000-2008 before handing over the top Kremlin job to his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, followed talks on Monday with Medvedev.
They produced deals on a target for cuts in nuclear arms, a deal to let U.S. troops fly across Russia to fight in Afghanistan and the establishment of a joint governmental commission to improve relations between the two former rivals.
"Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia," Obama said in his speech at the New Economic School.
He said dealing with global challenges like nuclear threats and economic crisis demands a partnership that "will be stronger if Russia occupies its rightful place as a great power."
But Obama made clear his opposition to the old Soviet concept of "spheres of influence," an allusion to Moscow's claim on special influence over former Soviet states like Ukraine and Georgia.
Earlier, Obama was quick to praise Putin. "I am aware of not only the extraordinary work that you've done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minis-, uh, as president, but in your current role as prime minister," Obama said.
Putin, looking down and mostly avoiding eye contact with Obama, said there had been periods of greyish mood and confrontation in U.S.-Russia relations but added: "We link hopes for development of our relationship with your name."
(Writing by Matt Spetalnick and Michael Stott; editing by Ralph Boulton)
