Negotiations with Iran on partnership with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) are close to conclusion, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said at the Eastern Economic Forum.
"We are in talks with Singapore and we are close to conclusion of negotiations with Iran," he said, noting that the talks are complicated.
Earlier, Trade Minister of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Veronika Nikishina said that EEC can request a mandate for signing a temporary free trade zone (FTZ) agreement between Iran and the EEU in October 2017.
On August 14, the chairman of EEC Tigran Sargsyan said temporary agreement on establishing a free trade zone between the EEU and Iran may be signed in 2017.
Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Astana, Kazakhstan, he said, "The decision has been taken to speed up the work to sign the agreement with Iran. We expect the document to be signed in 2017."
Negotiations between the EEU and Iran on a temporary free trade zone agreement are expected to be completed by the next summit, scheduled for October 11, Sputnik reported.
In June, the EEC, with is the bloc's main executive body, said that the EEU and Iran had finished working on the text of the temporary free trade zone agreement and that the sides will continue talks on liberalizing mutual market access and coordinating tariff obligations in the near future.
Earlier, Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said that the country is interested in economic projects of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, the EEU and the Chinese Silk Road.
In 2016, Russia and Iran agreed to pay for products in national currencies, thus stepping up economic cooperation.
The EEU, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union.
