Moscow, April 20, SPA -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,speaking before a meeting with Russian President VladimirPutin, gave an unusually upbeat account Wednesday ofU.S.-Russian cooperation on international issues. "We see Russia as a strategic partner in stopping thespread of nuclear weapons," Rice said. "We see Russia asa partner in solving regional issues, like the Balkans orthe Middle East." In an interview with the radio station Ekho Moskvy _ oneof Russia's few remaining independent media voices _ thevisiting secretary of state also mentioned Russiancooperation with the United States and other countries inefforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weaponscapability. In the interview, Rice made scant reference to U.S.concern about setbacks to Russia's democratic development.She only briefly mentioned the great concentration of powerunder the president and the need for free media to helppeople decide their fates.--SPA1344 Local Time 1044 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/256589