Moscow today gave US national security adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice a cautiously receptive response to her proposal to negotiate a new nuclear defence architecture.
Following 40-minute talks with Ms Rice, Russian Defence Minister Mr Sergei Ivanov said Moscow was willing to listen to Washington's arguments but said such talks would take some time.
Moscow is facing the prospect of the United States unilaterally withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, which prevents Washington from building a missile defence shield that Russia has warned could spark a new arms race reminiscent of the Cold War.
Moscow has threatened to stock up on nuclear warheads should Washington abandon the treaty, but Russia has recently adopted a more conciliatory tone - suggesting it is ready to compromise.
"Without being antagonists, without being enemies, Russia and the United States are looking for ways to establish - on a new and even more stable basis - a system of international security, including the key question of strategic stability," Mr Ivanov said.
Russian news agencies quoted Ms Rice as saying Moscow and Washington had reached a new era of co-operation, and that the two sides must move beyond the Cold War.
Washington argues that the 1972 ABM Treaty - which banned Russia and the United States from building national missile defence systems - is out of date now the main threat is from "rogue states" such as Iraq and North Korea.
AFP