Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London on April 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview broadcast by the TV-Center channel on Saturday.
"Medvedev and Obama have talked on the phone two times ... Both parties confirmed their position in favor of normalizing relations. As President Obama said, resetting them. President Medvedev also emphasized the intention to 'start everything anew'," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said he and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have also discussed the date of their first meeting over phone, Xinhua reports.
"We will have an opportunity not only to exchange views on where we stand, but also on how we will implement the two presidents' commitment to moving further and resetting our relations on a constructive, equal and pragmatic basis," Lavrov said.
The top Russian diplomat said the U.S. missile defense in Europe has nothing to do with the Iranian nuclear issue. "It is related to strategic stability and strategic parity and directly affects the strategic arsenals of the Russian Federation."
Moscow expects the new U.S. administration to make a through analysis of its plans to deploy a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, Lavrov said.
The foreign minister added that the transit of non-military supplies through Russia for NATO forces in Afghanistan will begin soon.
"They need to use our territory and the territories of Central Asian states to support their troops," he said.