Obama points out that Putin still rules the Russia

US President Barack Obama has said Russia must understand that "old Cold War approaches" to relations with the US belong in the past, BBC reports.

The head of the White House said he would convey this consideration to Vladimir Putin during talks in Moscow, which will begin on July 6.

US president said the former Russian president - now prime minister - "still has sway" in the country.

In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Obama said Putin was someone who has "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".

In the same interview the head of the US administration said the US was developing a "very good relationship" with Putin's successor Dmitry Medvedev.

Earlier, Medvedev has expressed optimism about the summit, saying he is hopeful of finding new ways to cooperate with the United States, BBC reports.

In a video on his website, he said the new US administration had demonstrated a willingness to build "effective, reliable and ultimately more modern relations".

"We are ready to play our part," Medvedev noted.

He said the US and Russia were "united by the values of our civilization, the values of respect for human life and human rights and freedoms".

We would like to indicate that the meeting between Obama and Putin will be held in the morning of July 7, and it is likely to take place "in a breakfast format". As reported, "it will not be a private dialogue, it will be a dialogue with the closest aides".

US President in an interview expressed his hope that as a result the forthcoming visit he would has the best understanding of political approaches of the Russian leaders.

As Obama noted he would seek to ensure that Russian leaders came to the conclusion that they can do effectively business with him.