WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Friday brought up the issue of Russian election flaws with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during their phone conversation. But he also praised the Russian government for allowing the following demonstrations to occur peacefully.  

"President Obama raised the reports of flaws in the way the elections were conducted, and welcomed President Medvedev's commitment to investigate these allegations," White House said the statement.

But the statement also said that Obama noted the "peaceful demonstrations" held in Russia and "praised" the Russian government for creating conditions that allowed the demonstrations to occur peacefully and lawfully.

Obama said that "this expression of civil society" is consistent with the modernizing Russia that Medvedev has tried to foster, according to the statement.

The statement added that the two leaders said that they looked forward to meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea in March 2012. In the same telephone conversation on Friday, Obama congratulated Medvedev on Russia's joining to the World Trade Organization.

Last Friday, Russia's Central Elections Commission (CEC) announced that the ruling United Russia party, led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, gained 49.32 percent of the votes, gaining 238 out of 450 seats in the new State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament.

Following the announcement, tens of thousands of Russians went to the streets on last Saturday to demonstrate against alleged fraud in the parliamentary elections.

On Thursday, Putin defended fairness of the parliamentary elections in his annual televised call-in, saying that he has been "fed up with these questions" and stressing the results of the polls reflected the views of Russian voters.