Rice "troubled" by Kremlin's power concentration

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking before a visit to Moscow, said on Thursday she was troubled by the concentration of power in the Kremlin and said U.S.-Russia relations were in a "difficult period."

"As with any relationship it is complicated, as with any big relationship," Rice, who leaves for her trip on Sunday, told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on foreign operations.

The United States is at loggerheads with Russia over a host of issues, including U.S. plans for a European-based missile defence system, which Moscow says is a return to the Cold War period, the future of Kosovo and human rights.

Washington has angered Russia and unsettled some European allies with its plan to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic from 2012 to help shield Europe from possible missile attack by nations such as Iran.

Rice did not mention tensions over the missile shield, which will likely be raised in her meetings with Moscow next week, but she criticised Russia for a backsliding in reforms.

"Everybody around the world, in Europe and the United States, is very concerned about the internal course that Russia has taken in recent years," said Rice, referring to an erosion of press and other freedoms.

"The concentration of power in the Kremlin has been troubling," she added.

She said Russia also had problems accepting the U.S. relationship with neighbours such as Georgia and Ukraine that were once part of the Soviet Union.