Russia's foreign minister said Sunday he had a "constructive" meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on topics including missile defence, arms control and Somali piracy.
Rice pledged to "try to consider Russian concerns" on missile defence in the meeting Saturday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments posted on the ministry's website.
"We discussed the consultations on the problems of arms control and missile defence set to take place in December. The Secretary of State said again she would try to consider Russian concerns. We will see how things go," he said.
Moscow has reacted furiously to US plans to build parts of a planned missile shield in Eastern Europe, despite US assurances that the shield is not directed against Russia's vast nuclear arsenal.
Washington says the shield is meant to protect from attacks by "rogue" states like Iran.
On Somali piracy, Lavrov said he and Rice had discussed the "necessity of more active efforts" in the United Nations Security Council and said actions should be taken against the pirates on land as well as at sea.
"Everything needs to be done: not just fighting this evil on the water, but also trying to bring some sort of order on Somalia's coast in cooperation with the legitimate government of this state," he said.
"The exchange of opinions turned out to be constructive," he concluded.
Saturday's summit also led to a meeting between US President George W. Bush and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who pledged to cooperate on issues of shared interest despite sharp differences between the two countries.
Tensions between Moscow and Washington grew sharply this year over missile defence and Russia's brief war with Georgia in August.
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