MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The current state of cooperation between Russia and the Untied Kingdom does not comply with the two countries' strategic interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
"We believe that, unfortunately, the current state of the political dialogue, trade and investment cooperation with the United Kingdom does not comply with the strategic interests of both countries," Putin told foreign diplomats at the Kremlin, requesting more active cooperation between the two countries on the international arena.
"Our relations with Australia could be more productive and truly mutually beneficial, especially in the field of trade and economy. Business circles in our countries are directly interested in this," Putin added.
Relations between Russia and the West went downhill in 2014, when the US and the EU accused Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure. Australia joined the US and the EU.
