On March 9, 2011, the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev met with the American Vice President Joseph Biden in Moscow. The Russian head of state said that Russia was ready to create a strategic relationship with the United States. Russian government officials are hopeful that the United States would help Russia join the World Trade Organization in 2011. President Medvedev also asked the American Vice President to work with Congress to graduate Russia from Jackson-Vanik.

Confidential messages by U.S. diplomats working in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, were recently leaked by WikiLeaks. They showed that the United States was concerned about Moscow’s mounting influence in Tajikistan.

All parties to the dialogue on Russia’s accession to the WTO share the view that Russia is absolutely entitled to become a new member of the organization and are working on the technical aspect of the agreement on Russia, Webb said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has named terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as the main threats of the 21st century and mentioned Iran and Hezbollah.

Talks between Russia and NATO on European missile defense will take two or perhaps three years, a Western military diplomatic source disclosed.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed visa-free travel between Russia and the United States.“If Russia and the United States agree on visa-free travel before Russia and the European Union make a similar decision, that would be an historic step,” he told U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden.