Russia, Britain to improve relations

During the first-ever meeting which took place on the fringes of the G8 summit in Canada, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Friday to improve the recently strained relationship between the two countries.

Medvedev said he and Cameron had agreed on the need for "certain changes" in their relations. "We agreed that our bilateral relations required personal attention of the leaders of the two countries both in terms of economic and other issues and we're determined to make them more productive and more intense," Dmitry Medvedev said.

"I think there's a real opportunity to put the bilateral relationship on to a new footing, to try to make a stronger start and to work through the issues where we have agreement and those where we still have things to work through," David Cameron said in his turn.