Putin: Russia-UK Relations Depend on London's Special Relationship With US

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Relations between Russia and the United Kingdom will improve if the latter carries out a more independent foreign policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"If [the UK] carries out a more independent foreign policy, then, possibly, this could happen," Putin told Bloomberg.

“The UK's relations with Russia depend not on its presence or absence from the EU, but on its special relationship with the US," the president said.

Putin added that Moscow would not "pout" if London saw a need for a dialogue in some areas.

On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it. Then Prime Minister and Remain campaign leader David Cameron resigned following the popular vote, and was succeeded by Former Home Secretary Theresa May.

On Tuesday, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow hoped the meeting between Putin and May scheduled to be held on September 4 on the sidelines of the G20 summit would give an impetus to the development of Moscow-London ties.