President Dmitry Medvedev expressed optimism Saturday about advancing relations with the United States during President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow in July even on divisive topics such as NATO's eastward expansion.

Medvedev again criticized NATO's ongoing military exercises in Georgia, which Russia defeated in a brief war in August, saying such drills were clearly "provocative" and threatened stability in the region.

He expressed hope, however, that he would have a fruitful discussion on security cooperation with Obama when he visits Moscow on July 6 to 8.

"I hope that in the course of our meeting we will be able to talk about these problems as well and give a new impulse to our contacts in this field," Medvedev said after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The White House on Saturday also expressed hope that Obama's visit would improve ties. "The summit meeting will provide an opportunity ... to deepen engagement on reducing nuclear weapons, cooperating on nonproliferation, exploring ways to cooperate on missile defense, addressing mutual threats and security challenges and expanding the ties between American and Russian society and business," the White House said in a statement.

It said that after the Russia trip Obama would attend a Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, from July 8 to 10, and visit Ghana.

Obama and Medvedev might also consider a Kremlin proposal to work out a new trans-Atlantic security pact between the United States, Canada, the European Union, NATO and alliances of former Soviet republics.

"What's better: to create a new security structure or hold military maneuvers in close proximity to the area which saw a military action less than a year ago?" Medvedev said in an interview with state television, fragments of which were broadcast Friday.

Medvedev first proposed to work out a new trans-Atlantic security pact in June, but the previous U.S. administration had ignored the offer.

Obama said after meeting with Medvedev in London last month that the proposal is worth exploring -- part of the new U.S. administration's push for better ties with Moscow.

Medvedev reaffirmed Friday that the new security pact he proposed is not aimed against NATO.

Russia and NATO recently started to improve ties frozen after Russia's war with Georgia in August, but tensions soared again over expulsions of diplomats and the NATO exercises that began recently in Georgia. But Georgia and Ukraine say the August war and Russia's subsequent recognition of two separatist regions in Georgia as independent nations underscores the urgency of NATO membership for their countries.

Sergei Bagapsh, the leader of one of the regions, Abkhazia, said Friday that the province's railroads and main airport would be handed over to Russian control for 10 years. But Bagapsh said Russia plans to cut the number of troops it plans to maintain at the main base in Abkhazia from 3,800 to 1,700 because of financial concerns.

(AP, Reuters)