BRUSSELS, Belgium — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said today she is hopeful that her first discussion with her Russian counterpart will open a new page in U.S.-Russian relations without raising questions about American support for European allies.

The planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva will pose perhaps the toughest test of Clinton's diplomatic skills since she took office. And it will provide an early test of the Obama administration's hopes for a new direction in U.S. foreign policy.

Clinton's session with Lavrov is aimed at advancing Obama's effort to put U.S.-Russian relations on a more positive track by presenting Moscow with a package of proposals including accelerated arms control talks and an appeal for help in stopping the nuclear program in Iran.

The full scope of the U.S. approach to Russia has not been worked out, but the Geneva session is a chance to set the stage for improved relations on numerous fronts after years of friction and only modest diplomatic progress during the Bush administration.

In a question-and-answer session today with a crowd of several hundred young professionals at the European Parliament, Clinton was asked about U.S.-Russian relations. She emphasized her hope for improved ties, but also noted that disagreements are inevitable. She cited, for example, Washington's condemnation of Moscow's decision last August to invade neighboring Georgia.

"We also are very troubled by using energy as a tool of intimidation," she added, alluding to a Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter.

And she said, "We don't want there to be any misunderstanding" among Europeans that the U.S. will remain a dependable ally regardless of the direction of relations with Moscow.

The Geneva meeting will tee up President Barack Obama's first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, at an economic summit in England in early April.

Obama has exchanged private letters with Medvedev outlining his intentions for improving and broadening relations and stirring speculation that he would be willing to scrap U.S. plans to build missile defense bases in eastern Europe if Moscow were willing and able to help the U.S. pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear program. Russia has voiced loud protests over the missile shield plan and threatened to build its own system of defensive missiles.

To a large degree, the emerging Obama approach to Russia is similar to his predecessor's, with the significant exception of arms control.