Kremlin sees Russia-US relations reset

MOSCOW - With the "reset" of Russia-US relations, progress has been made in bilateral political cooperation despite certain problems, the Kremlin said Thursday.

Presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich affirmed the progress made in political cooperation, including easing visa formalities, between the two countries.

Dvorkovich said the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, would soon endorse liberalization of a bilateral visa mechanism.

"We will make similar legislative decisions within weeks," he said.

However, the Kremlin official criticized some politicians in Washington for their "Cold War thinking."

Prejudices linger on "and Cold War biases remain in the minds of many people," Dvorkovich said.

He added that not everybody "in Russia and the United States, including high-ranking politicians, have changed their attitude to the bilateral relations."

Dvorkovich stressed Russia's opposition to replacing the Jackson-Vanik amendment by another legislative act.

"A replacement of the Jackson-Vanik amendment by any new legislation that will tackle new political problems imagined or seen by certain American congressmen and senators is unacceptable for us," Dvorkovich said.

The US Congress approved the Jackson-Vanik amendment at the height of the Cold War in 1974. The law denies "most favored nation" status to those countries that restricted emigration and has been targeted specifically against the Soviet Union.

US Vice President Joe Biden last year urged a repeal of the law.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier declined an invitation to the G-8 summit due to his "responsibilities" in dealing with the formation of a new government. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instead will attend the May 18-19 summit at Camp David near Washington.