Putin: Big U.S. companies wish to return to Russia, contact made, hopefully, decisions will follow

ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - Big U.S. companies are interested in the Russian market, and related contacts are underway, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that, hopefully, the pragmatic attitude of U.S. President Donald Trump would allow making decisions necessary for reinstating bilateral relations.

"You know, I am hoping that Mr. Trump is not just a politician, not just a person to whom the American people entrusted the fate of the nation, but also a businessman, and I believe it's a great advantage that he calculates everything. Judging by the fact that he is a rich man, he seems to calculate well. Now he is calculating what particular steps in Russia's regard would lead to, how much that would cost taxpayers, how much that would cost the U.S. economy, whether it benefits from particular steps, or whether that would be a disadvantage," Putin said at a meeting with the heads of international news agencies in St. Petersburg.

"We can see that U.S. businesses are interested in building relations with Russia. Contacts have been made with big companies wishing to return to our market and work together," Putin said. This inspires "certain cautious optimism," he said.

"I am hoping that the U.S. president and his close circle will see and hear this and decisions aimed at reinstating Russian-U.S. relations will be made together with representatives of the business community," Putin said.