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450683
Fri, 06/09/2017 - 11:13
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Eurasian Economic Union in active talks with Iran over free trade zone formation, deal 90% agreed - EEC chairman

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is in active talks with Iran over the deal to create a free trade zone, Chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan told TASS. "The negotiation process has shown a very positive dynamics as we’ve managed to settle 90% of the issues, meaning that we’ve reached an agreement regarding the main bargaining points. Around 10 issues are left, they are related to commodity groups where we have to reach an agreement first inside the Union and then with our Iranian colleagues," he said. According to Sargsyan, the remaining issues are mainly related to agricultural products made both in the EAEU member-states and in Iran. "We have to reach an agreement regarding quotas on those products. We have to give in to our Iranian colleagues a little, and they have to give in to us a little so that we could take a balanced decision," he added. Presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia approved the proposals to start negotiations on establishing free trade zones with Iran and some other countries at the EAEU summit last December. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said then that the Iranian president expressed interest in signing a provisional agreement with the EAEU that would eventually lead to setting up a free trade zone. On March 7, the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council decided to hammer out such an agreement following a meeting in Bishkek. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov later noted that the EAEU member-countries’ heads of government discussed in detail the approaches to either establishing the free trade zones a bit later or the terms for signing a preferential trade agreement (with Iran) now, and issued the appropriate instructions on the talks between the Eurasian Economic Commission and Iran on the issue. On March 13, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak who is a co-chairman of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental commission said that the document could be agreed on by the Iranian president’s arrival in Moscow. According to the Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Mehdi Sanai, the signing of the agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the EAEU will create the appropriate conditions for increasing the volume of mutual trade, considering that the trade turnover between Russia and Iran grew by 80% last year. Read more

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