Putin says time to 'turn the page' on UK ties after spy scandal

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Moscow and London should mend fences after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain.

The 2018 poisoning of the ex-double agent, which the UK has blamed on Russia, led to dozens of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a breakdown in already fragile ties between Moscow and London.

"There's a need to finally turn this page -- linked to spies and assassination attempts," Putin told heads of global news agencies at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg.

"Global issues related to national interests in the economic and social spheres and global security are more important than games of security services," the Russian president said.

Putin added that Skripal was not a "Russian spy." "It was not us who spied on you," Putin said. "It's your agent, not ours. That means you were spying on us."