MOSCOW. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Moscow and Washington should intensify their partner relationship to solve a range of international problems, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Richard Lugar said.

Lugar told Russian senator Mikhail Margelov, the head of the State Duma committee for international relations, that he will insistently advise his colleagues to intensify relations with the Federation Council international committee.

He said it's high time for Russia and the U.S. to think about a partnership again, at least in such issues as nonproliferation, fight against international terror, cooperation on Afghanistan, and to hold an energy dialogue.

Margelov recalled that the U.S. Senate delegation is the third U.S. delegation that visited Russia last month.

"The intensification of contacts with the U.S. parliamentarians is a clear signal from Washington on its readiness for a dialogue, and our door has never been shut before the U.S. partners. We are ready to cooperate together in the development of a positive agenda in U.S.-Russian relations," Margelov said.

He added that in the period of detente Moscow and Washington "cooperated in the area of nonproliferation of weapons, and now we could jointly recreate the architecture of the regime of nonproliferation and control over nuclear armaments."

This could become the first common project for the new U.S. president and Russia.