The United States will continue to build on the progress of the reset of the relations with Russia regardless of who becomes the next Russian president, the White House said on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to run for president in next year's election, ending months of speculation over which man would run for the post.
"The question of who will be the next Russian president should be for the Russian people to determine," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said after Vladimir Putin declared he planned to reclaim the presidency at March elections.
"While we have had a very strong working relationship with President Medvedev, it's worth noting that Vladimir Putin was prime minister throughout the reset," Vietor said.
"We will continue to build on the progress of the reset whoever serves as the next president of Russia, because we believe that it is in the mutual interests of the United States and Russia and the world."
