Putin hopes for better Russia-US ties

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he hopes Russia's ties with the US will improve under President-elect Barack Obama's administration. But he says the West must respect Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he hopes Russia's ties with the US will improve under President-elect Barack Obama's administration. But he says the West must respect Russia.

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Putin has hailed Obama as "sincere and open" and says Moscow was encouraged by what he describes as positive signals from the Obama camp during the US election race.

But he says Russia will "wait and see" as Obama sets his course, and that Russia and the West must acknowledge each other's interests and respect each other.

Putin was speaking early Saturday with newspaper editors in Dresden during a brief visit to Germany to drum up support for Russia in its gas dispute with Ukraine. The dispute has halted gas supplies to Europe for 11 days.