Medvedev and Merkel held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G8 summit at a Japanese resort on Hokkaido.
"We are seeking to de-escalate the situation in bilateral relations," Prikhodko quoted Medvedev as saying.
Merkel proposed discussing Russian energy supplies with Medvedev, who in turn put forward the idea of discussing ways to update bilateral contacts with Germany, Russia's largest trade partner.
During a visit to Germany in early June, his first European trip as president, Medvedev complained to Merkel about a decline in mutual understanding in international affairs. He also expressed concerns about "narrowing trends of mutual understanding in Euro-Atlantic policies."
Russia has been angered by U.S. plans to deploy missile bases in central Europe, Western countries' reluctance to approve an amended Cold War-era Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, and NATO's ongoing expansion. The issues strained ties between Russia and the West under Medvedev's predecessor, Vladimir Putin.
Russia and Germany are jointly building a pipeline, Nord Stream, to pump natural gas from Siberia to Europe under the Baltic Sea.
Merkel assured Medvedev in June that Germany would continue promoting Nord Stream, which she called "strategically important" for the whole of Europe, explaining its importance to its opponents - mainly East and Central European states.
