According to a report from Russia’s TASS news agency on Monday, Iran, Russia, and a number of other nations that encompass the large Eurasian territory extending from the boundaries of Eastern Europe to Western China might reach a free trade zone deal by the end of the year.
Russia free trade deal with Iran: 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.
Since Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have restricted Russia’s access to international trade lines and pushed it to hunt for markets outside of Europe, both the region and Iran have gained significant significance for the Kremlin.
Despite closer relations between Moscow and Tehran, trade between the two markets has only significantly increased since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and started making significant purchases of drones built in Iran to assault the nation.
Official figures indicate that the turnover of commodities between Russia and Iran witnessed a 20% increase in 2022, which accounts for two-thirds of the overall growth rate observed by Moscow with China, another significant partner with whom Russia has strengthened its political and economic ties in recent years.
The regional arrangement with Iran would replace and broaden an interim agreement that already lowers customs taxes on hundreds of different product categories.
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.
Without going into much detail, Overchuk said to TASS that talks between the nations of the Eurasian Economic Union to establish a single petrol market are still ongoing.