Putin invites Obama to visit Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited re-elected US President Barack Obama to visit Russia in 2013, the Kremlin said.

Putin congratulated Obama for his victory in Tuesday's presidential election.

"In his address, the Russian president made a high assessment of the landslide victory won by the Democratic Party's candidate, taking into account a tense pre-election campaign held in the United States," the Kremlin press-service said Wednesday.

Putin highlighted the achievements in Russia-US relations in the previous years and expressed hope for further constructive joint work over bilateral, regional and international problems, Xinhua reported.

The Russian president also hailed the cooperation between the two countries that is of key importance for maintaining stable development in the world.

Earlier, Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Russia, told Interfax that a visit to Russia remains on President Obama's list of priorities.

In May, Putin, who was then re-elected to the Russian presidency for a third non-consecutive term, skipped the G8 Summit at Camp David in the US, citing urgent domestic issues, but sent his Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the summit.

In September, Obama, stuck in a tight race with Republican candidate Mitt Romney, excused himself from the informal APEC economic leaders' meeting held in the Russian city of Vladivostok.