MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin called on Wednesday for greater dialogue between Russia and the European Union and a more positive agenda to try to improve strained relations that he said had prompted a fall in trade.
Putin’s comments at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum come as Russia’s ties with the West are under new pressure over the treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn, Vladimir Soldatkin, Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Andrew Osborn)