Russia and the United States agreed on Tuesday to tone down their public war of words but failed to bridge major differences souring their relationship.
A string of recent hostile remarks has revived memories of the Cold War, capped by a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany, when he seemed to compare US foreign policy to that of the Third Reich.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after meeting Putin at his residence outside Moscow that "the rhetoric is not helpful, it is disturbing to Americans who are trying to do our best to maintain an even relationship".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed, telling reporters Putin had "supported the American side's understanding that it's necessary to tone down the rhetoric in public statements and concentrate on concrete business."
The war of words has alarmed business leaders here, who are concerned that it could undermine booming trade and investment between Russia and the United States. Russia's economy, fuelled by strong energy and metals exports, is enjoying a ninth consecutive year of growth, offering big opportunities for US companies.
After the Rice-Putin talks, both sides said they wanted to work together to strengthen international co-operation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to prevent the spread of atomic weapons.
But there was no sign that major differences between Washington and Moscow on key issues had been bridged. Russia has complained bitterly that US plans to build a missile defence shield in former Soviet satellites Poland and the Czech Republic threaten its security.
But Rice was uncompromising on the issue. "The United States needs to be able to move forward to use technology to defend itself and we're going to do that," she told reporters after meeting Putin.
On another sticking point - the future of the Serbian province of Kosovo - Lavrov said both sides would continue to look for a mutually acceptable solution but acknowledged that "there is no such solution immediately in sight".
Russia, a long-time ally of Serbia, has hinted that it may veto a UN plan to grant Kosovo independence under EU supervision unless Serb concerns about the plan are addressed.
"We are going to have our differences, there is no doubt about that," Rice said. "... there will be times when something like missile defence may even hit an old nerve but the relationship needs to be free of exaggerated rhetoric".
Lavrov had assured her that Putin's speech last week, widely interpreted by Russian media as a comparison of US foreign policy with that of Nazi Germany, had been "misunderstood", Rice said.
Russia and the United States both hold presidential elections next year and Lavrov said neither side wanted Russia-US relations to become "hostages of electoral cycles in both nations", according to a Kremlin pool report. Further complicating matters, Russia faces a difficult summit with another big trade and investment partner, the European Union, on Friday.
Rows over Moscow's ban on Polish meat imports and its anger at Estonia's removal of a Soviet war memorial from the centre of its capital have clouded the atmosphere.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Moscow on Tuesday for preparatory talks, conceded that it was unlikely that Russia and the EU would agree at the summit to start negotiations on an ambitious new partnership pact covering trade, energy, human rights and foreign policy. The coincidence of the German and US foreign ministers being in Moscow illustrates the depth of Western concern about relations with Russia after a period in which Putin has adopted a more assertive stance toward the United States and Europe.
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