国际英语新闻：Medvedev wants good relations with U.S. for common benefit

MADRID, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said here Tuesday during his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero that Russia wants good relations with the United States.

    Speaking to reporters in the Palacio Moncloa in Madrid about possibilities of negotiating with the United States over the proposed "anti-missile shield" proposed by the Bush administration, Medvedev was positive about the attitude of President Barack Obama, but stopped short of saying what talks would take place.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero (R) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev give a joint press conference in Madrid March 3, 2009. Medvedev arrived in Spain on March 1 for his first visit to the country as Russian president

 "Regarding our relations between Russian and the U.S., it is important, because we want good relations with the USA, it was always our posture. I hope that the positive signals we're receiving from Washington will translate into agreements," said Medvedev.

    However, the Russian leader denied that negotiations had already taken place to stop any further developments of the U.S. missile shield.

    "Barak Obama wants to intensify cooperation and reach agreements. We maintain constant contact and correspondence, but we have not talked about changes," the Russian leader told reporters.

    Both Moscow and Washington have recently expressed their willingness to reset bilateral relations, which have deteriorated due to the U.S. missile defense plans, Russia's brief war with Georgia last August, and NATO's eastward expansion.

    "The anti-missile shield as it was planned by the former administration gives us doubts and does not help European security," Medvedev said.

    Russia strongly opposes plans by the former U.S. administration of George W. Bush to place a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying the move poses a threat to its security.

    

    "We have to work together and create a common shield against all threats. We would like a new structure for all Europeans. The U.S. and Europe would negotiate on that, but it would have to be global and not fragmented around the Russian frontier," Medvedev stressed.

    "Our U.S. counterparts seem willing to discuss that and that is a change because the message we received from the last government was that everything had been decided," Medvedev added. "We have a common objective," he said.

    In January 2007, the Bush administration announced plans to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic to counter so-called long- and medium-range missile threats from Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.