Moscow and Tehran might stop measuring the volume of mutual trade in dollars as cooperation in the economy, including the banking sector. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this in an interview with Iran's state television station, which was aired on Russia-24 on Monday.
"Last year, trade and economic relations between the two countries slightly exceeded $4 billion, although it may be wrong to count them in US dollars, and over time we will probably stop this practice as we develop our cooperation in the banking, financial sphere," he said.
Bilateral agreement
According to Peskov, the countries may soon sign a comprehensive partnership agreement.
"We hope soon," he said when asked when the document was scheduled to be signed.
Peskov noted that the Russian version of the text of the treaty was handed over to the Iranian side in mid-June and was highly praised in Tehran. "We hope that after some additional amendments are made and coordinated taking into account the opinion of the Iranian side, it will be possible to reach an agreement fairly quickly and in the near future," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
Answering the question about when the trade turnover between Russia and Iran may increase from the current $4 billion to $10-15 billion, Peskov said that this figure may be even higher. According to him, the Russian leader "is a convinced supporter of the idea of putting forward the most ambitious goals." "I am convinced that President Putin believes that it is possible to achieve a higher bar. These are realistic benchmarks for us, the potential of our two countries is very great, and there are great reserves, so both Moscow and Tehran have work to do, and not only in the bilateral plan," the spokesman for the head of state said.
He recalled the functioning of a temporary agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union. "We hope that this agreement will become permanent, it will not remain temporary all the time, and this will give our interaction even more momentum," Peskov said.
Friendship and partnership
Moscow values its friendly relations with Tehran, which have a rich historical basis and been given a new impetus in recent years, Peskov said.
"Iran is our friend and partner. And, indeed, we value our relations very much and attach great importance to them. It is gratifying that the heads of state, the presidents of the two countries are in constant communication - only this year they communicated four times: just recently they had a meeting in Ashgabat. And we hope that another meeting will be held in the very near future," said the Kremlin spokesman.
He drew attention to the fact that over the past few years, interaction between Moscow and Tehran has been given an additional impetus in all areas - "both in terms of political, diplomatic coordination and in terms of economic interaction." "But the history of our relations is not limited to a few years or months; after all, we know that Russia and Iran are states that have a very rich and long history. And the first diplomatic contacts between Russia and Persia began back in the 16th century. Many of today's states did not even exist then," reminded the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.
Therefore, Peskov added, the relations between the two countries are based on deep historical roots and also have the strongest potential, which allows Moscow and Tehran to "reach out to broader horizons on a mutually beneficial basis, considering each other's interests and showing mutual respect for them." "Indeed, we hope we can do so," he concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS