GENEVA, March 6 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Russia's foreign minister on Friday, symbolically presenting him with a red “reset” button to improve ties that sank to a post-Cold War low during the Bush administration.

No decisions were expected in their first substantive talks which were to cover issues from reducing nuclear arsenals and missile defence to US concerns over Georgia.

Clinton told Lavrov she looked forward to better ties. “We mean it,” she said before the two sat down to a working dinner.

“I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice-President Biden and I have been saying and that is 'We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together,” said Clinton, presenting Lavrov with a palm-sized yellow box with a red reset button.

Clinton and Lavrov had dinner on the 18th floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva.

They joked about the Russian misspelling of “reset” on the button before sitting down at an oval table with aides. “We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?” Clinton asked. “You got it wrong,” said Lavrov, telling her “Peregruzka” meant “overcharge”.

Lavrov and Clinton's predecessor Condoleezza Rice had a difficult relationship but the new top US diplomat smiled broadly and looked relaxed.

A senior US official said he hoped this would be the first of a range of substantive talks between the two, as well as preparing for a summit between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

MUTUAL INTEREST He said a key topic would be how to reduce nuclear arsenals and how to get the correct verification procedures. Clinton would also tackle differences between the two nations, such as Moscow's actions in Georgia, and urge Russia to cease the sale of longer-range missiles to Iran.

“It is important that we can cooperate with the Russians on issues of mutual interest and not check our values at the door,” he said.

When Russia sent tanks and troops into Georgia last year, the Bush administration sought to isolate Moscow, especially in international institutions such as Nato, which suspended ties.

Clinton said on Friday she wanted a fresh start, but said divisions remained on Nato expansion and Russia's relations with its neighbours.

“There are areas where we just flat out disagree and we are not going to paper those over,” Clinton told the BBC.

“We will not recognise the breakaway areas of Georgia, we do not recognise any sphere of influence on the part of Russia and their having some kind of veto power over who can join the EU or who can join NATO.”

Criticising the Bush's administration's “confrontational approach” towards Russia, she said “How much that contributed to Russian behaviour I think is a legitimate question to ask.”

Nato agreed on Thursday to resume formal ties with Russia in hopes of securing greater support for the alliance's Afghan military campaign.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said one of the main tasks of the meeting was to “define the mood” of relations.

“We await with cautious optimism the outcome of these talks,” the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Clinton said Russia was an important member of the group of powers seeking to persuade Iran to renounce nuclear weapons.

The United States and Russia have clashed over a missile shield Washington is planning in Europe to deter any attack from a country such as Iran, and Clinton says she wants to get talks with Russia over the issue on a “serious track”.

The United States also wants to secure alternative supply routes to Afghanistan as it considers doubling its military presence there.

The Kremlin says it is ready to widen cooperation and Russian officials believe that unless the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan is contained, Islamist militancy could spread through former Soviet states in Central Asia and reach Russia.—Reuters