In a historic speech in Moscow highlighting a message of economic and political liberalism, U.S. President Barrack Obama called on Russians to open up for a new era of U.S.-Russia relations, so that the governments of both countries could work to tackle international issues, including terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

Addressing graduates of the New Economic School in Moscow Tuesday, he urged Russia to accept a "fundamental change", without which, he said, the next two decades would inevitably bring about the further spread of nuclear weapons.

"Look to the future that can be built if we refuse to be burdened by the old obstacles and old suspicions," he said, referring to the cold war that raged between America and the then Soviet Union till the 1980s.

"You get to decide what comes next," Obama said, adding, "You get to choose where change will take us. Because the future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground; the future belongs to young people with the education and imagination to create."

Founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Moscow school specializes in the study of pro-western economics.

Emphasizing the need to counter nuclear threats raised by countries like Iran and North Korea, Obama said: "We should be united in opposing North Korea's efforts to become a nuclear power and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."