Russia wants pragmatic relations with U.S., says Lavrov

MUNICH Feb 18 (Reuters) - Russia wants to build pragmatic relations with the United States based on mutual respect, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

Addressing the Munich Security Conference, he also described NATO as a "Cold War institution" whose expansion had led to unprecedented tensions in Europe over the past thirty years.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Shadia Nasralla; editing by John Stonestreet)