MOSCOW, 05 June, 2021 (TON):  Russia and the United States must try to find ways to mend their relations, which are at an extremely low level, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"To a certain extent, Russian-American relations have become hostage to internal political processes in the United States. But I hope this will end someday," he said while talking in a plenary session of the forum.

"Fundamental interests in the fields of security, strategic stability and arms reduction are still more important than the current domestic political situation in the United States," Putin stressed.

At the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said that he plans to discuss strategic stability, international conflict settlement, cooperation against COVID-19, arms control, anti-terrorism, and climate change with U.S. President Joe Biden during their first summit in Geneva.

The face-to-face meeting scheduled to take place in Geneva on June 16 amid deeply strained relations between the United States and Russia.

Tensions are running high over a litany of issues including the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as allegations of hacking and election meddling.