Russia hopes for closer ties to Britain

MOSCOW, July 2 (UPI) -- Russian leaders hope that the upcoming G8 summit in Japan will lead to an easing of tensions with Britain, the Novosti news agency reported Wednesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to meet one-on-one with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the Tokyo meeting, a diplomat in the Foreign Ministry said.

"We hope Britain will signal its willingness to improve relations with Russia," he told reporters.

Relations between the two countries have been chilly since British police named Andrei Lugovoi, a Russian businessman and member of parliament, as the prime suspect in the killing of Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko, a former KGB agent living in London, was poisoned with deadly radioactive polonium-210.

The two countries expelled some diplomats, and Russia closed down two British Council offices. But the nations continue to have close economic ties and Britain was the leading investor in Russia last year.