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Russian official says US businesses lost $300 bln after leaving Russia

Kirill Dmitriev said "it’s very important that the US and Russia cooperate together, and jointly, we can solve problems"

NEW YORK, February 18. /TASS/. US businesses lost $300 bln after leaving Russia, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev told CNN.

"What we want is good dialogue. Actually, it’s US businesses who lost $300 billion from leaving Russia. I think it’s very important that by not working together, $300 billion have been lost by US businesses," he pointed out.

When asked about his expectations from the upcoming talks between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh, Dmitriev said: "I think it’s very important to build bridges. I think that Russia-US relations are very important for the world. I think it’s very important that the US and Russia cooperate together, and jointly, we can solve problems."

According to the RDIF head, he has already held "some meetings with Trump team members" in Riyadh. "All I can say is that they are great problem solvers. I think President Trump is a great problem solver and also, his team is a team of great problem solvers," Dmitriev added.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with a US delegation. Ushakov had said that Dmitriev might take part in the negotiations.

The Russian and US delegations will hold talks in Riyadh on February 18. They are expected to discuss ways to restore the entire range of bilateral relations, as well as preparations for negotiations on resolving the Ukraine issue and a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States.

Russia will be represented in the talks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov. According to CNN, the US will be represented by President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

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