The much-heralded "reset" in Russia-U.S. relations has become a reality, the Russian foreign minister said on Friday.

"My impression is that the reset has indeed become a reality. The most important thing now is that we do not stop moving forward," Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton near Moscow.

The Russian minister quoted Medvedev as saying at the meeting that the two countries had managed in the past year "to halt the degradation of relations that was in place before the Obama administration came to power."

Lavrov added that Clinton's meeting was a form of "mid-flight refueling." The foreign minister also said the two countries had managed to establish "unprecedented" levels of dialogue.

Clinton urged the further development of relations between the two former Cold War adversaries.

Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama have made replacing the START 1 treaty, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control part of their broader efforts to improve bilateral ties, which worsened during the previous Bush administration. START 1 expired on December 5, 2009.

BARVIKHA (Moscow Region), March 19 (RIA Novosti)