Medvedev, Obama to ink Afghanistan transit deal

MOSCOW (AFP) - The Russian and US presidents plan next week to sign deals on replacing a Cold War-era missile treaty and the transit of US military supplies bound for Afghanistan, a Kremlin aide said Friday.
The comments by Sergei Prikhodko, the top foreign policy advisor to President Dmitry Medvedev, gave the clearest indication yet of the agenda when Barack Obama next week makes his first visit to Russia as US president.
The leaders plan to sign a joint agreement on military transit to Afghanistan, Prikhodko told reporters in the Kremlin.
The transit will be via land and air, but mostly by air, Prikhodko said. Currently, the US can only transit non-lethal goods across Russia by rail.
Obamas visit, starting Monday, is aimed at laying to rest a series of disputes that dogged ties between the sides during the administration of his predecessor George W Bush.
Prikhodko praised the new atmosphere.
Today we sense a desire of our American partners to combine wide cooperation... with a readiness to breathe new life into the bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Despite the rapprochement, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin underlined remaining distrust when he hit back at a comment made by Obama in an interview with Associated Press that he has one foot in the old ways.
We dont stand bow-legged, Putin was quoted by Interfax news agency as quipping. We are firmly standing on both our legs and always look to the future.
Prikhodko meanwhile said the two sides would also sign a declaration setting up the framework for the renewal of the Cold War-era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which is set to expire in early December.
The document on replacing the START treaty will not be a legally binding agreement but a broad political document with a set of guidelines for Russian and US officials, Prikhodko said, calling the document an instruction for the delegations... to work out and prepare for signing the documents to replace the START.
While it would not have dates, there will be numerical targets, Prikhodko said.
A key sticking point is agreeing on an exact number of warheads and delivery vehicles, officials have said.
Russia had so far said it would like to agree on the START replacement by the years end but Prikhodko said the two countries should not produce the key document in a hurry, with quantity at the expense of quality.
We would like it by the end of this year or beginning of next year, Prikhodko said.
He said that unlike the previous US administration, the current leadership understood Russias position linking US plans for missile defence in Europe and a drive to reduce strategic weapons.
Whats important for us? A link between the issues of offensive and defensive weapons, he said.