MOSCOW, Dec. 4  -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he expects better relations between Russia and the United States when Barack Obama becomes president.

Putin took questions from the public during a three-hour session that was broadcast on radio and television, his first such appearance since he became prime minister, the RIA Novosti news agency reported..

He said Obama appears to be less enthusiastic about a proposed missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic than the Bush administration. Obama has said he would only support the shield if it is shown to be effective.

MOSCOW, Dec. 4  -- The European Union should stop "clinging to the past" in its attitudes towards Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

Putin said the union is Russia's biggest trading partner and increasingly involved in oil and gas development in Russia, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

He welcomed the EU decision this week to resume discussions on a new treaty with Russia. The talks had been suspended after Russian troops entered Georgia in August.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY , Russia, Dec. 4  -- Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and Maritime territory are expected to be hit by two cyclones advancing on the country, forecasters said Thursday.

The Kamchatka Weather Service told ITAR-TASS one of the cyclones steadily advanced across the Korean peninsula toward Kamchatka, and the other headed toward Russia from the Yellow Sea.

Effects from the Yellow Sea cyclone have already been felt in the Maritime region, where ice formations and heavy rains were reported.

The cyclone approaching Kamchatka was expected to strike early Friday and to quickly gather strength during the weekend, the weather service said.

MOSCOW, Dec. 4  -- Managers of upscale restaurants in Russia say they have begun adapting their menus to healthier and creative dishes in response to the economic crisis.

Dmitry Ivanov, the manager of Moscow's Riva restaurant, said his eatery has adopted an "Anti-Crisis Menu" oriented toward good food that helps maintain the spirit of the general population, The Moscow Times said Thursday.

"Our aim is to provide a fillip to the flagging Russian spirit in this uneasy period," Ivanov said. "We want our customers to eat well and to continue to feel good about themselves despite the economic crisis."

Helsinki  - Proposals to continue Geneva-based peace talks between Russia and Georgia were welcomed Thursday by several foreign ministers in Finland to attend a meeting of the 56-nation Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The European Union and the OSCE helped broker a ceasefire after the war in August. That included the stationing of military monitors from the OSCE.

Moscow  - Despite international protests, Moscow Mayor Yuri Lushkov has forbidden all future gay rights demonstrations as "homosexual propaganda."

"Of course all democrats in the world will criticize us, but every society has its own point of view," Lushkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying at a conference on the problems of HIV and AIDS in the former Soviet Union.

Moscow will prevent "homosexual propaganda even if some provincial democrats think that that association with sexual minorities are an important indicator of democracy," said Lushkov, who blamed homosexuals for the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The city has banned gay and lesbian parades in the past.