ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – According to the envoy, the UK government is hoping to promote ties in various sectors including business, science and culture.
"If there is only one thing I have to say, I would like to say that British government supports the development of economic ties between Russia and the UK," Bristow said at a panel session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"There are plenty of political differences between London and Moscow, but there are also many contacts in business, educations and science," he added.
The diplomat added that UK companies continued investing in Russian economy, specifically in the sphere of pharmaceuticals.
The envoy noted, however, that the United Kingdom would like to see specific steps from Russia aimed at improving investment climate.
"Trade between Russia and the UK is down by around 40 percent," Bristow said, adding that it was caused by "difficult " political and economic circumstances.
"This is in line with what is happening with other European economies <…> There are plenty of things we would like Russians to do to improve investment climate," the ambassador added.
According to Bristow, another important area for cooperation is education, as Russian students continue to actively study in the United Kingdom.
Relations between Russia and the United Kingdom deteriorated after the start of the Ukrainian crisis and a referendum in Crimea to rejoin Russia in 2014, which prompted the European Union to impose sanctions on Moscow. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is taking place on June 16-18. According to the organizing committee, the number of contracts at SPIEF is expected to be not less than in 2015 when the total volume of agreements reached 293 billion rubles ($4.4 billion). Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on Tuesday that the number of SPIEF participants would exceed 10,000 this year, compared to 7,500 in 2015.
