President Obama accepts Moscow’s invitation, says to visit in July

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

"I will come to Moscow in July," Obama said saying after holding talks with Medvedev in London on the eve of a G20 summit to discuss the global economic crisis.

The United States and Russia are making "great progress," AP quoted Obama as saying following his first meeting with the Russian leader since taking office.

Medvedev said he viewed prospects for future relations with the United States "with optimism" after the meeting.

"After this meeting I look at the future of our relations with optimism," he was quoted by AFP as saying, ahead of Thursday's G20 summit.

Russia and the United States will pursue a new deal to cut nuclear warheads, the two leaders said in a joint statement, making good on a pledge to rebuild relations from a post-Cold War low.

The leaders said they had ordered negotiators to report first results by July, when Obama will visit Moscow.

"In the past years, there were strains in relations between our two countries and they were drifting in the wrong direction," Medvedev was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters.

"This was not in the interests of the United States, Russia or global stability. We agreed to open a new page in these relations, to reset them, given the joint responsibilities of our states for the situation in the world."

Obama said he and Medvedev had begun "constructive dialogue" on issues from nuclear proliferation to counter-terrorism to economic stability.