Moscow: By the end of the year, a free trade zone agreement could be reached between Iran, Russia, and a number of other nations that encompass the vast Eurasian region extending from the borders of Eastern Europe to Western China, according to a report from Russia's TASS news agency on Monday.
In an interview with the official TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk stated that negotiations between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, which consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, are nearing their conclusion.
We are progressing, said Overchuk. We fervently hope that such a contract can be signed before the year is out.
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Since Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine have restricted Russia's access to international trade routes and forced it to look for markets outside of Europe, both the region and Iran have gained additional significance for the Kremlin.
Despite closer ties between Moscow and Tehran, trade between the two markets has only moderately increased since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and started making significant purchases of drones made in Iran to attack the nation.
According to official data, the turnover of commodities between Russia and Iran increased by 20% in 2022, which is two-thirds the overall growth rate Moscow observed with China, another significant partner with whom Russia has strengthened its political and economic ties in recent years.
The regional pact with Iran would replace and broaden an interim agreement that already lowers customs duties on hundreds of different product categories.
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Russia began trading oil products with Iran in November 2022, and Tehran stated in March that it anticipates "huge volumes" of oil and gas exchanges with Moscow.