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Obama to tell Putin: Time to move past Cold War

President Barack Obama gestures during his interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, July 2, 2009, in the West Wing of the White House in Washington.(AP)

Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over.

On next week's trip, Obama will meet not only with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev but with Putin, the prime minister who hand-picked Medvedev as his successor. Said Obama: "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated. ... Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Obama also:

• Said he could see abandoning his own proposal to indefinitely hold some terror detainees _"it gives me great pause" — and said he would not be comfortable ordering such a disposition for Guantanamo Bay prisoners without congressional action.

• In light of recent Supreme Court cases dealing with highly charged questions about the nation's racial progress, said the high court was "moving the ball" away from affirmative action but noted the justices had not foreclosed the continued use of racial preferences in hiring and college admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances. In any case he said affirmative action is neither the panacea — nor the problem — that it's often made out to be.

• With most experts in agreement that there's a good chance Iran could have a usable nuclear bomb sometime during his presidency, he said, "I'm not reconciled with that."

Asked about Michael Jackson's death, an event that has transfixed many, Obama said he didn't see any controversy in the fact that he did not issue a formal public statement about the pop star and knew of no dissatisfaction among blacks about that. He said, "I know a lot of people in the black community and I haven't heard that."

He called Jackson a brilliant performer — "I still have all his stuff on my iPod" — whose talents were paired with a tragic, sad personal life. "I'm glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer," Obama said.

The 24-minute interview, with Obama nearly six months into his job and approval ratings still high, ranged from the serious to the silly.

Asked to let Americans in on a secret about White House life, the president chose the pastry chef and rued that "the best pie I have ever tasted" is a challenge to the first couple's self-discipline and waistlines. Asked to choose between basketball greats Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Obama — a committed hoops player and fan of Jordan's Chicago Bulls — didn't pause for even a second. "Michael," he said, picking the retired superstar. "I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."

Scheduled to depart Sunday for a trip to Russia, an international summit in Italy and his first trip to Africa as president, Obama praised Moscow for its cooperation in international efforts to persuade North Korea and Iran to abandon their nuclear development programs. After North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in May, the United Nations approved "the most robust sanction regime that we've ever seen with respect to North Korea," he said.

He expressed optimism he could get international agreement for even tougher action if North Korea persists in defying demands that it dismantle its nuclear weapons and stop production. The U.N. sanctions, for instance, did not include one thing the U.S. wanted: allowing the use of military force to board and inspect ships suspected of carrying banned weapons.

"In international diplomacy, people tend to want to go in stages," Obama said. "There potentially is room for more later."

The main agenda item for Obama and Russian President Medvedev in Moscow is to advance talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace one that expires in December.

In addition to sitting down with Medvedev, Obama also is meeting with Putin, the former president who now is prime minister but still a major force.

"I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated — that's it's time to move forward in a different direction," Obama said.

He said Medvedev understands that, but Putin needs convincing that the U.S. wants cooperation rather than "an antagonistic relationship."

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