U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

MOSCOW, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Trade between Russia and the United States expanded by 24.6 percent in the first five months of 2017 over the same period of last year, Russia's Federal Customs Service said Monday.

Trade volume between the two countries reached 8.7 billion U.S. dollars from January to May, with Russia selling 3.9 billion worth of goods to the United States and buying 4.8 billion from it.

Bilateral trade began to decline in 2014 when the United States and its allies imposed economic sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis, prompting Moscow to take reciprocal measures.

In 2016, Russia-U.S. trade amounted to 19.9 billion U.S. dollars, plummeting from 29.1 billion in 2014.