US:The United States and Russia said yesterday they would establish a formal economic dialogue to help boost flourishing trade and investment despite a sometimes tense political relationship.
"The inaugural meeting of this dialogue will be in the spring in Washington DC," said the US embassy in Moscow.
Trade between Russia and the United States rose to $14.2 billion (€9.6 billion) in the first 11 months of 2007, according to Russia's economy ministry. But the EU is Russia's biggest single trading partner.
Russia's $1.3 trillion economy, fuelled by high prices for oil and soaring consumer spending, is growing for a tenth straight year in the longest Russian boom for a generation.