U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin will meet shortly after the latter is sworn into office in early May, the Kremlin says.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Kommersant FM radio Tuesday the two agreed to meet during a March 10 telephone conversation, six days after Putin was declared the winner of Russia's presidential election, RIA Novosti reported.

"Obama called Putin and they had a substantial discussion on key aspects of Russian-American relations and agreed to hold a direct meeting soon after the Russian president's inauguration," Lavrov said.

The diplomatic chief said the two leaders will have wide-ranging talks on all aspects of U.S.-Russia relations, including the disagreements between the two nations over the deployment of a U.S.-led European anti-missile defense shield.

Moscow has long opposed the effort, which the United States and its NATO allies say is meant to protect Europe from missiles launched by "rogue states" such as Iran. But Russia, which fears it could be targeted against its own missile force, insists it must be granted full partnership in the operations of any European shield.

Despite agreeing to work together in the issue two years ago, the United States and NATO continue to press for the establishment of two anti-missile systems -- a Russian one and a U.S.-led one -- while Moscow wants a single system to be operated jointly by both sides.

Despite the long-standing deadlock on the issue, Lavrov told the Moscow broadcaster the Kremlin remains open to talks.

"We are not closing doors for talks but want to professionally and honestly continue them without avoiding direct questions," he said.

The foreign minister last week told members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federation Parliament, "If the United States does not want to change anything in the missile defense plans, it should provide guarantees that it is not directed against Russia."

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon responded by saying discussions about security guarantees for Russia would continue, even as the United States and Russia agree to disagree, ITAR-Tass reported.

He told the Russian news agency the United States has repeatedly stressed the missile defense system in Europe isn't directed against Russia but against threats from beyond Europe, adding that U.S. officials don't believe the system would undermine Russia's nuclear deterrent capabilities.

The United States, NATO and Russia, however, have also shown in recent weeks they can work together on some issues, especially Afghanistan.

The three parties have struck a draft agreement allowing NATO to use the Russian city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River as a transport hub for non-lethal cargo to help supply troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Such a route would allow NATO an alternative to transiting through Pakistan en route to its Afghanistan mission.

Lavrov told the Duma the deal wasn't yet been finalized by the government but it brought immediate opposition from the Communist Party, which demanded the issue be put to a referendum, RIA Novosti reported.

The party's Web site last week said Communists were demanding a vote in the Ulyanovsk Region on the question, "Do you approve of the deployment of a NATO base in the city of Ulyanovsk?" before the final decision is made.