MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that relations with the United States will move forward if the latter refrains from stationing missile defense elements in central Europe, local media reported.

    "If we see that our American partners abstain from deploying missile defense facilities in Europe, or, for example, review their approach to expanding military-political blocs, or abandon bloc-like thinking, this would be a large step forward," Putin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

    "We are ready for efficient cooperation. We really expect a lot from the new (U.S.) administration," Putin said on an agricultural inspection in south Russia's Krasnodar region.

    Moscow has expressed strong objections to the U.S. missile defense plan and NATO's eastward expansion despite Washington's assurance that such moves are not directed against Russia.

    The Russian premier also rejected U.S. President Barack Obama's claim that he was stuck in Cold War thinking.

    "We are firmly standing on both feet and always look to the future. That is Russia's specialty and that has always allowed us to move forward and strengthen," Putin said in televised remarks.

    In an interview with the Associated Press ahead of his visit to Moscow next week, Obama said he believed "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business."

    Obama is scheduled to visit Moscow from July 6 to 8. It will be the president's first visit to Russia since he took office in January.