Washington ? Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin “still has a lot of sway” in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over.

On next week’s trip, Obama will meet not only with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev but with Putin, the prime minister who hand-picked Medvedev as his successor. Said Obama: “I think that it’s important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated. … Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new.”

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Obama also:

• Said he could see abandoning his own proposal to indefinitely hold some terror detainees –“it gives me great pause” — and said he would not be comfortable ordering such a disposition for Guantanamo Bay prisoners without congressional action.

• In light of recent Supreme Court cases dealing with highly charged questions about the nation’s racial progress, he said the high court was “moving the ball” away from affirmative action but noted the justices had not foreclosed the continued use of racial preferences in hiring and college admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances.