Kremlin Says Medvedev, Obama Agree to Meet

The Russian government says U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev could meet soon.

A Kremlin spokesman says the two leaders agreed on a prompt meeting during a phone call Saturday.

A statement from the Kremlin says both sides agree Russian-U.S. relations should be a priority. It also says international stability requires "constructive and positive" relations between the two countries.

Russian officials say a meeting could take place as early as next week, on the sidelines of the financial crisis summit in Washington.

Earlier this week, the outgoing administration of U.S. President George Bush proposed new arms control talks with Russia, and said that U.S. and Russian officials are scheduled to meet in Moscow later this month.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Rood says Washington has already sent Russia a proposal on strategic nuclear weapons. He says a new treaty would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires at the end of next year.

Russia has criticized U.S. plans to place a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and says it will respond by deploying short range missiles on the European Union border.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.