Vladimir Putin says UK and Russia must break ‘deadlock’ in sour relations

Vladimir Putin has held his annual press conference in which he said Russia and Britain must get out of the "deadlock" in the sour relations.

The Russian president said he was interested in restoring "full relations" with Britain, which has imposed sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

Referring to the poisoning, Putin said: “It’s good that he wasn’t killed… Thank God, Skripal is alive.”

He continued to strike a defiant tone on the issue, saying Britain's response was "simply an excuse to organise yet another attack on Russia".

"If there were no Skripals, they would have come up with something else, that’s clear to me. There’s only one goal: to constrain Russia’s growth as a possible competitor. I can see no other goals.”

He said the sanctions, which forced the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the UK, had been imposed on his country because of the "growth of Russia’s power and its ability to compete. A new player has appeared which must be taken into consideration”.

He said the strain they had put on the economy had forced Russians "to switch on our brains in relation to many things".

However, he added: “Are we interested in restoring full relations with Britain? Yes, we are interested… And we know that British [companies] work pretty actively here."

On the Brexit referendum, Putin said May "must enact the will of the people, expressed during the referendum”.