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Putin holds talks with May in Osaka

The meeting is likely to be the last for May in her current position

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Russian President Vladimir Putin Mikhail Metzel/TASS

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Russian President Vladimir Putin

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

OSAKA /Japan/, June 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

The meeting is likely to be the last for Theresa May in her current position, as she will leave the post of the head of the British government in less than a month.

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The last meeting of this kind between Putin and May took place on September 4, 2016 in Chinese Hangzhou, also as part of a G20 summit. However, following the poisoning incident of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, something that London accused Moscow of, the relations between the two countries deteriorated dramatically, while contacts between the leaders ceased. Putin and May only briefly exchanged a few phrases on the go at the last G20 summit in Argentina in late 2018.

Earlier, the Russian leader said in an interview with The Financial Times that both Russia and the UK are interested in comprehensive restoration of ties. "In any case, I am hoping that at least some first steps will be taken," Putin said. "It appears that it possibly be easier for Mrs. May, she has already announced her resignation [from the post of the British Prime Minister], therefore, she is now free to so what she deems right, important and necessary, without thinking about any domestic political consequences."

Shortly before the meeting, a British Prime Minister spokesperson said that during the meeting May would tell Putin that London is ready for different relations with Russia if Moscow’s position changes, particularly if actions that undermine international agreements and the collective security system are abandoned.

On June 7, Theresa May officially announced that she was stepping down as the leader of the Conservative Party, which provided the ruling political force with a formal reason to launch a party leadership contest. The final round of this contest will see former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and current UK’s chief diplomat Jeremy Hunt going head to head for the highest political office in Great Britain. The next British Prime Minister will be revealed on July 23, and he is expected to assume the office the next day.

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