Barack Obama: Putin has one foot in the past

• Hopes fade for 'reset' in US-Russian relations
• Remarks follow praise for successor Medvedev

• Chris McGreal in Washington and Luke Harding in Moscow
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 July 2009 23.28 BST
• Article history

Barack Obama has chided Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, for "cold war approaches" to relations with the US, saying Putin had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new", just days before the two men meet in Moscow.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Obama said the US was developing a "very good relationship" with Putin's successor as president, Dmitry Medvedev, over issues such as nuclear arms reduction. But the American president acknowledged the balance of power in Russia by saying that he would also meet Putin, because he "still has sway".

"I think that it's important that, even as we move forward with President Medvedev, that Putin understand that the old cold war approaches to US-Russian relations is outdated – that it's time to move forward in a different direction", said Obama. "I think Medvedev understands that.

"I think Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new. To the extent that we can provide him and the Russian people a clear sense that the US is not seeking an antagonistic relationship, but wants co-operation on nuclear non-proliferation, fighting terrorism, energy issues, we'll end up having a stronger partner overall in this process."

In April, Obama met Medvedev and spoke of "the beginning of new progress" in relations, praising the Russian president as "critical" to that movement. After that meeting, the two men issued a statement saying they were ready "to move beyond cold war mentalities".

Obama's latest remarks clarify that he sees Putin standing in the way of progress, particularly on issues such as weapons reduction. His comments may in part be driven by a belief that Putin is behind Russian objections to US plans to place a missile system in eastern Europe.

However his remarks, likely to infuriate the Kremlin, come amid growing pessimism that next week's Moscow trip will lead to a genuine "reset" in relations.

Putin will discuss "tactical and strategic issues" with Obama, the prime minister's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last night. He added: "Putin will want to share his vision of current Russian-US relations on the basis of his experience of intensive contacts at the highest level when he was president. He has tremendous experience of contact with US presidents and a brilliant knowledge of the agenda."

Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio: "Of course, he will be interested to understand the new US head of state, in order to make his modest contribution to the vision of possible prospects of development."

Medvedev became president last year, when Putin took the job of prime minister. While Medvedev has adopted a more liberal-seeming rhetoric, differences with his predecessor are stylistic, rather than substantive. Few in Russia doubt that Putin is the supreme arbiter of foreign policy.

During his Moscow trip, Obama is likely to discuss Iran, Russian co-operation over transit supplies to Afghanistan and a new nuclear arms reduction agreement. Both sides have agreed in principle to reduce their nuclear arsenals to 1,500 warheads each, after Obama and Medvedev's meeting in April at the G8 summit in London.

In reality, there is little prospect of a swift arms reduction deal. The Kremlin wants the US to cancel its missile defence shield in eastern Europe in return for concessions in arms reduction – a demand Obama is unlikely to meet.