PM Agrees To Meet Putin At G20 Summit

Theresa May will meet Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in China - a meeting agreed during a telephone conversation.

The conversation was the first since Mrs May became Prime Minister.

A Kremlin spokesman said both leaders had said they were unhappy with the current state of relations between the UK and Russia.

The pair agreed to work on an arrangement between their agencies on issues relating to aviation security.

A Sky source said that they also agreed to meet at the G20 summit of world leaders in China in September.

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The relationship between the UK and Russia has been strained over the past few years by the situation in Ukraine and Mr Putin's backing of the Syrian regime.

There are also tensions over what Britain says is a sharp increase in flights by long-range Russian bombers near British air space.

The Kremlin said Tuesday's phone call was initiated by Britain.

It also said that Mrs May confirmed Britain would be involved in this month's ceremonies marking 75 years since the arrival of the first British World War Two convoy in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk.

A Downing Street spokesman confirmed the two leaders had spoken during the afternoon, adding that Mr Putin had "congratulated (Mrs May) on her appointment and wished her success".

They added: "The Prime Minister noted the importance of the relationship between the UK and Russia, and expressed the hope that, despite differences on certain issues, they could communicate in an open and honest way about the issues that mattered most to them.

"The Prime Minister and President agreed that British and Russian citizens faced common threats from terrorism; and that co-operation on aviation security in particular was a vital part of the international counter-terrorism effort.

"They looked forward to seeing each other at the G20 summit in China next month."

Meanwhile, Mr Putin has also been trying to repair ties with Turkey, meeting the country's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St Petersburg.

The relationship between the two soured after a Turkish F-16 jet downed a Russian warplane over the Syrian border in November.

The incident led to Moscow slapping sanctions on Ankara.

The meeting was the first between the two leaders in nine months.