WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama described Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday as someone who still has 'one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new.'

In a White House interview with The Associated Press, Mr Obama said one reason he is meeting with Mr Putin - as well as with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev - during his upcoming visit to Moscow is that he wants Mr Putin to know that 'the old Cold War approaches' to relations with the United States are 'outdated.' Mr Obama travels next week to Russia, Italy and Ghana.

While saying Mr Putin 'still has sway' in Russia, Mr Obama said the US is developing a 'very good relationship' with Medvedev, and that he is looking for gains in nuclear arms reduction.

Mr Obama rejected the idea that Russia is an obstacle in confronting North Korea and Iran. He said there's been 'good cooperation' in dealing with those two countries.

Turning to Iran, the president said he is 'not reconciled' to the idea of Tehran obtaining a nuclear weapon within a year.

The president said a nuclear-armed Iran would likely trigger an arms race in the already volatile Mideast and said that would be 'a recipe for potential disaster.' Iran says its nuclear program is intended to produce electricity, not weapons.

On Afghanistan, Mr Obama said that he will reassess the possible need for additional US troops in Afghanistan after the Afghan national elections in August.

Asked how he defines US success in Afghanistan, the president said on Thursday the main US goal is to keep the al-Qaida terrorist network from acquiring a haven from which it can train fighters and launch attacks on the United States or its allies.

He said the US and its allies also must build up the Afghan national army and police and enable neighboring Pakistan to secure its borders against terrorist movements.

On domestic issues, Mr Obama said he is still 'deeply concerned' about the continuing loss of jobs across the United States.

He said that developing both a short-term and longer-term solution to America's economic woes is 'one of the things that I'm most focused on.'

Mr Obama also said he believes his administration has stabilised the housing and financial markets, while he acknowledged that more work needs to be done in the area of job creation.

The president said he understands that people are 'worrying if they're going to be next.' -- AP