Obama, Medvedev discuss importance of U.S.-Russian summit

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WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have attached great importance to the U.S.-Russian summit due next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Wednesday.

During their telephone conversation on Tuesday, Obama and Medvedev discussed issues set to dominate their summit, including bilateral effort to reach a deal on the reduction of nuclear weapons, Gibbs told a news briefing.

Obama, together with his wife Michelle, is due to visit Moscow on Monday, the first since he took office in January.

During his stay in Moscow, Obama is expected to discuss with Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on a new pact to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires this December.

The scheduled visit is expected to be part of the efforts by the Obama White House to "reset" Washington-Moscow ties as promised by the new U.S. administration.