Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Europe

Putin calls to improve ties with the EU despite sanctions

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • 6f412190-
    Image 1 of 3

    Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) (The Associated Press)

  • c54ad5ab-
    Image 2 of 3

    Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) (The Associated Press)

  • c1aaf3a3-
    Image 3 of 3

    Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) (The Associated Press)

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on European leaders to improve ties with his country despite sanctions.

Speaking at Russia's top economic conference Putin said Friday the European Union should "show flexibility" and consider the interests of EU investors who want to do business with Russia.

Western leaders and company executives went to Russia's St. Petersburg Economic Forum this year after a two-year break that felt more like a boycott.

Putin had a meeting with the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday and other international executives, telling them that Russia is open to Western investment despite the strained ties with the West.

The U.S. and the EU slapped Russia with economic sanctions in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and threw its backing to separatists in eastern Ukraine.