Putin tells Obama he wants better ties, equal treatment

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the Presidential Council on Inter-Ethnic Relations in the Kremlin July 3, 2014.REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskiy/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin called for an improvement in ties between Russia and the United States on Friday in an Independence Day message to Barack Obama, urging Washington to treat Moscow as an equal partner.

Relations between the two presidents and countries are at a low ebb following disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and over human rights, democracy and defence matters.