Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he did not talks to UK Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, noting that normalizing Russian-UK relations is a matter of the nearest future.

"No," Putin said in response to a question about whether he talked to May at the summit, adding that they "have seen each other, of course." "I think that normalizing relations with Britain is an issue of the future, hopefully, nearest future," Putin said.

The Russian president stressed that the UK remains an important partner for Russia. "We hope that some time - and I proceed from the assumption that it will happen as soon as possible - we will be able to overcome those difficulties that exist in our relations and restart the trend of positive cooperation in the interests of the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation," he added.

Talking about statements that Russia presents a bigger threat to the UK than terrorist organizations, Putin said such attempts should be left on the conscience of those who make such statements. "Russia is probably number one in making the most significant contributions to the fight against terrorism," Putin noted.

"Meanwhile, such statements are usually conditioned by the desire to show their electorate, to show the population that this or that politician takes a tough position. All of this is done mostly with the aim of earning more political points in your own country," he added.