Moscow hopes US president visits Russia

Moscow hopes that U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Russia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday. The invitation remains in force, Lukashevich said. Answering a question if the situation around former CIA technical contractor Edward Snowden cools relations between Moscow and Washington, the diplomat said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had given explanations on this aspect. “The visit has been postponed. The invitation remains in force and we hope that Obama will use the opportunity anytime,” the diplomat said. Commenting on the Snowden case itself, Lukashevich said much had been talked about it. “Russia and the U.S. have a broad agenda, many joint goals due to be achieved jointly in order to maintain strategic stability,” Lukashevich said.