WASHINGTON - The White House said on Thursday that the United States will continue to seek opportunities for cooperation with Russia, based on mutual respect and common interests.

In response to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's allegation of US' interference in Russian affairs, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the two countries "have many common interests," and the Obama administration has sought to "develop and nurture those interests."

"Through engagement with the Russian government, we have advanced several of our top security and economic interests," he told reporters at a regular news briefing. "We will continue to seek opportunities for cooperation with Russia, based on mutual respect and those common interests."

"At the same time, we have sought to deepen our engagement with Russian society and to promote universal values," he added.  "When rights are violated in Russia, or in any other country, we speak out. We are going to continue to pursue both tracks of engagement in the promotion of our interests and our values."

Early this week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "serious concerns" about the State Duma election held in Russia on Sunday, saying the election was "neither free nor fair" and calling for "a full investigation" into "all credible reports of electoral fraud and manipulation."

Putin on Thursday accused US authorities of sponsoring the opposition protesters in Russia, saying that Clinton "was quick to evaluate the elections, saying that they are unfair and unfree, even before she received materials from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights observers."

Upon taking office in January 2009, the Obama administration has sought to reset relations with Russia and obtained its cooperation on issues like Afghanistan and nuclear programs of Iran and the Korean Peninsula.

In addition, the two countries also signed a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which entered into force on February this year.

However, they remain at loggerheads over the missile defense system being deployed in Europe. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last month to take strong countermeasures including exit from the treaty.