Top US defence and foreign policy officials arrive in Moscow on Friday hoping to close some of the chasms that have opened up with Russia over issues such as missile defence and arms control, but officials on both sides caution against expecting breakthroughs.

Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Robert Gates, defence secretary, will hold two days of meetings with their Russian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Anatoly Serdyukov.