HANGZHOU /China/, September 4. /TASS/. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the UK Prime Minister Theresa May expressed hope the bilateral relations could be brought to a higher level both in the political and economic spheres.

"I am very pleased to meet you and to get acquainted personally and to congratulate you with the appointment as the UK’s prime minister," Putin said. "Clearly, you and your team are facing complicated tasks, but we all are facing complicated tasks. We wish you success and hope we shall be able to bring our bilateral relations to a level higher than today. Here we clearly have what to be doing both in the political and in the economic spheres."

The meeting began in Chinese Hangzhou before opening of the G20 meeting on Sunday.

Putin spoke with May over the phone on August 9 when he congratulated her on her appointment. According to the Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the two leaders exchanged views on topical issues of bilateral relations, which are "practically frozen.".