The US President, Mr Barack Obama, called Russia’s President-elect, Mr Vladimir Putin, to congratulate him on his victory in the recently held elections, the White House said.

Mr Obama highlighted the achievements in US-Russia relations over the past three years with President, Mr Dmitry Medvedev, including cooperation on Afghanistan, the conclusion and ratification of the START agreement, Russia’s recent invitation to join the World Trade Organisation and cooperation on Iran, it said.

“President Obama and President-elect Putin agreed that the successful reset in relations should be built upon during the coming years,” it said, adding that Mr Obama said that he looked forward to hosting Mr Putin at the G-8 Summit in May at Camp David.

The two leaders outlined the areas for future cooperation, including strengthening trade and investment relations arising out of Russia’s pending accession to the WTO, the statement said.

Mr Obama and Mr Putin also agreed to continue discussions on areas where the US and Russia have differed, including Syria and missile defence.

“President Obama and President-elect Putin agreed to continue their efforts to find common ground and remove obstacles to better relations.”

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