Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he wants to find ways to improve ties with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden as the two leaders prepare to meet in person on June 16 in Geneva.

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 Biden during their first summit.

"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 told 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 said. "We need to find ways to regularize these relations." 

He told the forum that Russia-U.S. ties are currently at a "low level" and the American sanctions against his country driven by domestic political competition in the United States were an "enigma" to Moscow.

He also talked bout disagreements between the two countries, saying the only disagreement they have is that the U.S. wants to hold back Russia's development. "They talk about it publicly," he said.

The president told Russia's Channel One television that he holds a cautiously optimistic view regarding the upcoming summit, but said he did not expect any breakthroughs. It would be good to discuss topics of mutual interest, he said, adding, "I expect a positive result." 

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. have intensified in recent months. The two sides have obvious differences on issues including Ukraine, cyberattacks and human rights.

In March, Biden called Putin "a killer" during an interview, adding that the Russian president "will pay a price" for allegedly meddling in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In response, the Kremlin recalled its ambassador to the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years. 

"For us, the main thing is to determine ways of rectifying the Russian-American ties, which are in a difficult state and Washington has brought (them) to a dead-end in recent years," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. 

At the forum, Putin also touched on COVID-19 vaccine purchasing, saying some countries are refusing to buy them for "political reasons."

(With input from AFP, Reuters)