In a speech intended to highlight his two-day visit, Obama reached out to national sensibilities here by assuring that “America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia” and declaring that “it is not for me to define Russia’s national interests.”

Yet he made the case that Russia should join the US in curbing emerging nuclear powers like Iran and in promoting greater liberties at home. “By no means is America perfect,” he said in a speech at the New Economic School. “But it is our commitment to certain universal values which allows us to correct our imperfections, to improve constantly and to grow stronger over time.” He added, “If our democracy did not advance those rights, then I — as a person of African ancestry— wouldn’t be able to address you as an American citizen, much less a president.”

Obama’s speech came one day after he signed an agreement in principle with President Dmitri A Medvedev to cut Russian and American strategic nuclear arsenals by at least one-quarter.

As he began his second day in Moscow, Obama had breakfast with PM Vladimir V Putin, widely viewed as Russia’s paramount leader, in a meeting that ran long over its scheduled time. Speaking to reporters beforehand, Putin noted that there had been periods of “grayish mood between our two countries,” an allusion to the tension of recent years that culminated with last year’s war between Russia and its small neighbour, Georgia.

“With you,” Putin told Obama, “we link all our hopes for the furtherance of relations between our two countries.”

Obama lavished praise on Putin, while stumbling for the second time in as many days over his titles. “I’m aware of not only the extraordinary work that you’ve done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minister— as president, but in your current role as prime minister.”

'Bangalore, India can help businesses everywhere'

Barack Obama mentioned Bangalore and India in a speech to students at New Economic School on Tuesday. Speaking on America's interest in “global prosperity”, he said: “A young woman with an Internet connection in Bangalore, India, can compete with anybody anywhere in the world. An entrepreneur with a startup company in Beijing can take his business global... That’s good for all of us, because when prosperity is created in India, that’s a new market for our goods... when new connections are forged... all of us are enriched.”

Obama made a second mention of India in the context of “nuclear challenge in the 21st century”. He said: “The notion that prestige comes from holding these weapons... is an illusion. In the short period since the end of the Cold War, we’ve already seen India, Pakistan and North Korea conduct nuclear tests. Without a fundamental change, do any of us truly believe that the next two decades will not bring about the further spread of these nuclear weapons?”