New York  - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Wednesday called Washington's decision not to proceed with the nuclear missile shield in Europe as a "constructive step in the right direction."

Medvedev said the international community should reply with a "positive response."

"We are prepared to engage in a thorough discussion of the US proposals and relevant Russian initiatives regarding cooperation in this area to reach generally acceptable arrangements," Medvedev said in an address to the UN General Assembly.

Medvedev urged other countries to embark on nuclear disarmament without waiting for US-Russian agreements on their own nuclear arsenals. He cited previous US-Russian agreements on naval armaments and nuclear weapons as a basis for advancing nuclear disarmament by other countries.

Moscow will host a Global Nuclear Security Summit in April, which will provide the opportunity to discuss nuclear disarmament in detail.

The UN next year will review the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), Medvedev said, urging all countries to make progress in nuclear disarmament. He said that needed disarmament had yet to take place despite the end of the Cold War years ago. (dpa)