MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet in Japan this week, their first meeting after last year's spy scandal, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The meeting in the western Japanese city of Osaka on Friday will take place after Putin said this month it was time to "turn the page" on the countries' difficult relationship after the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the English city of Salisbury last year.
The Kremlin said the two sides will identify "possible steps to normalise political dialogue."
May's office declined to confirm the meeting.
The two leaders previously met for formal talks on the sidelines of a G20 summit in China in 2016.
The 2018 poisoning of the ex-double agent, which the UK has blamed on Russia, led to dozens of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a breakdown in already fragile ties between Moscow and London.
"Global issues related to national interests in the economic and social spheres and global security are more important than games of security services," the Russian president said earlier this month.
London said at the time that a new relationship would only be possible following changes from Moscow.
The name of a new British prime minister is expected to be announced on July 23.
Former foreign minister Boris Johnson is the favourite in the race, battling Britain's current top diplomat, Jeremy Hunt.
Putin has expressed hope that bilateral relations could improve under a new prime minister in Britain, suggesting the new leader should think about British companies operating in Russia.