US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Russia yesterday seeking to patch up a relationship so strained by differences over Kosovo and missile defence that some have warned of a new Cold War. Russian officials say they are preparing for calm and positive talks with Rice on her two-day visit, in marked contrast to the shrill tone of exchanges between Moscow and Washington in the past few months.

But Moscow - flush with oil money and once again flexing its muscles as a world power just as Washington is mired in Iraq - warned that its US visitor would not dictate it to. ?We always call on our American partners to talk frankly and not try to force their point of view on others,? Mikhail Kamynin, chief spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, told Reuters. ?What we need is not briefings but joint work and a joint search for solutions.? Rice is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials.

She is the most senior US official to visit Moscow since Putin stunned the West with a speech in Munich in February criticising Washington?s foreign policy. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said after the speech it revived his memories of the Cold War and he cautioned against sliding back into that era.