(MENAFN) In a move that could eventually help both nations dodge the impacts of US-led economic sanctions they face, Russia says Iran may be joining an evolving economic bloc that it leads as early as May, Press TV reported.
Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted by media as saying that Iran's membership to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) could help the expansion of bilateral trade and investment between Tehran and Moscow.
"The move to enter into a temporary agreement making for a free trade zone to be set up between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, which is currently at an advanced stage, will obviously trigger further development of our bilateral trade and expansion of investment cooperation," said Novak, who is also co-head of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental commission.
The EEU is a single market comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia that was set up in 2015.
More than 40 countries and international organizations, including China, Indonesia and some South American countries, have expressed interest in a free trade deal with the EEU. The trade bloc has also held negotiations with South Korea, Egypt and India.
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