Lavrov: Russia wants good U.S. relations

NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Russian officials are fully prepared to meet with their U.S. counterparts to foster good international relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.

The Russian official said his country is prepared to work with the United States on issues ranging from nuclear energy to counter-terrorism, ITAR-TASS reported Saturday.

"We are not interested in bad relations with the United States," Lavrov said Friday. "It wouldn't be our choice, but if the United States does not want to cooperate with us on one or another issue, we cannot impose."

The foreign minister's comments come in the wake of U.S. opposition to Russia's military actions in South Ossetia and Georgia, moves Lavrov defended.

"We acted (in the Caucasus) because we had no other choice," Lavrov said in an exclusive CNN interview. "We had no other choice (than) to ensure not just the security of Abkhazians and South Ossetians, but their very survival."

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday Russia's position as an international ally to the United States was jeopardized by its flexing of its military muscles in the breakaway republics, CNN reported.