"Russian-U.S. ties are definitely not at their highest now - they have known better days. However, we are optimistic and hope that they will develop. We hope that the new U.S. administration will also make its contribution to this," he told the visiting former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger.
Kissinger agreed with Medvedev's assessment of the state of U.S.-Russian relations and said he also shared his optimism.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently said he expected Russia's relations with the United States to improve after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.
He said Moscow had already seen "positive signals" coming from Obama's transition team, pointing to two key disputes in Russia-U.S. relations - Washington's plans for a missile shield in Central Europe, and NATO's eastward expansion.
Already strained by those differences, relations between Russia and the United States suffered a further blow in August when Russia fought a brief war with Georgia over South Ossetia.
