Iran Closest to EEU Free Trade Agreement Than Other Countries

The Eurasian Economic Union may strike a deal on a free trade zone with Iran earlier than with other countries, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk said.
"We are closest with Iran," he said, when asked which countries the EEU is closest to reaching an agreement with on a free trade zone, TASS reported.
EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission) Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev had earlier said the agreement on a free trade zone between the EEU and Iran could be signed as early as this year.
Russia is negotiating free trade zone agreements with a number of Muslim countries, Overchuk said.
"Within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, we have been negotiating the creation of a free trade zone with a number of Muslim states, including Egypt, Iran, the UAE. We have already started negotiations with them, and we are about to begin talks with Indonesia," he told the plenary session of the 14th international economic forum “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum” on Friday.
"We see our bilateral trade growing, and it may indicate that our countries are becoming closer to each other," Overchuk added. "Our task for today is to reduce trade barriers and simplify contacts, primarily in the economic sphere.”