Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with a US television network on Sunday that Russia will not seek a return to the Cold War rivalry with the United States.

"There will be no rolling back, at least on the part of Russia, to the past. We are not foes. We are partners in many international spheres, and I hope that will be so in the future, because the interests of our countries and people coincide to a large extent," Putin said in an interview with Fox News television. The transcript of the interview was published on the Kremlin's official website.

Russia and the United States supplement each other in the economy and can also do well in key spheres of the international agenda, including the Iraq problem, the Iranian nuclear programme and the Korean nuclear issue, Putin said.

International security and disarmament are the spheres unthinkable without Russia and the United States, Putin said, "We are the world's number one partners in these spheres."

Asked by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace if he has any doubts which country, Russia or the United States, is more democratic, Putin said he would not give any assessments but was convinced that "democracy cannot be exported from one country to another, like you cannot export revolutions or ideology."

Turning to the issue of Iraq, Putin said, "We proceed from the assumption that sooner or later foreign troops will have to leave Iraq."

Asked by Wallace about his sense of a timetable for the pullout of foreign troops, Putin answered: "I believe it should be within 12 months or more, 24 months, something like that."

Everything will depend on the rate of Iraqi security forces getting to their feet but it would be right to define the time frames, which would introduce order and make everyone move in the right direction, Putin said.

On Iran's nuclear programme, Putin said Teheran is rather co-operative in its relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"I have just met with the Iranian president in New York and he assured me that Iran wants to continue negotiations with the European trio," Putin said.

Germany, France and Britain, the so-called European trio that has been in talks with Teheran to persuade it to scrap uranium enrichment, bristled at Iran's August move to renew uranium conversion activities and warned of backing a US push to bring Iran before the UN Security Council for sanctions.

"We are ready to co-ordinate our actions with American and European partners. I must say that our positions are rather close. At least all of us are categorically against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, particularly in Iran," he said.

In the interview, Putin also ruled out a third term as president.

"Under no circumstances am I prepared to change the constitution," which bars him from running for a third term, Putin said when asked if he would seek re-election in 2008.

Source: China Daily