Tehran, Moscow Step Up Trade Talks

EghtesadOnline: After hinting at a possible free trade agreement between the two oil-rich countries, a Russian delegation said it was in Iran to explore the future for imports.

News ID: ۷۸۲۴۱۳

28 April 2018

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an interim agreement this week to set up a free trade agreement between Iran and members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the EAEU.

Medvedev said the trade bloc of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia could offer tariff concessions to Iran through the arrangement, UPI reported.

On Wednesday, a delegation from Russia arrived in the Iranian province of Bushehr to move the discussion on trade forward, according to Financial Tribune.

“With the quality of the goods in Bushehr, we hope to have imports to Russia from the province,” the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Kaziev was quoted as saying by IRNA.

As a result of improved opportunities, annual trade between the two countries is on pace to pass $10 billion. Iran and Russia are close nuclear partners, with the latter providing fuel for the former’s Bushehr nuclear plant.

The meeting followed talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. European leaders are eager to keep Washington in an agreement that gives Iran sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear commitments.

Trump is widely expected to renege on the deal in May, but hinted that some sort of new arrangement was possible.