Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

A meeting of the presidents of Russia and Iran will be held in late March in Moscow, said Mahmud Vaezi, the Iranian Minister of Information and Communication Technologies and co-chairman of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation

The minister said that now preparations are underway for the meeting. “The agenda is being formed," he said on March 13, TASS reported.

The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral relations, as well as regional and international interaction.

Russia and Iran hold regular and close consultations concerning the latest developments in the region, Syria in particular, toward coordinating their efforts in helping restore security in this country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov also confirmed the visit of Iranian President Hasan Rouhani to Moscow.

Besides, a number of agreements are expected to be signed during the high-level talks in March.

Russian Energy Minister, co-chairman of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental commission Alexander Novak said a document on formation of a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) may be signed during the visit of Rouhani to Moscow.

"The delegation on consideration of the agreement has been staying in Tehran since yesterday, the text of the document is being agreed, and hopefully it will be ready for signing by the time Iranian President arrives in Moscow," Novak said at a meeting of the Commission in Tehran on March 13.

The two countries will also consider the issue of oil for goods barter deal.

Iran is ready to discuss with Russia delivering 100,000 barrels of oil per day as part of the oil-for-goods program, Vaezi said before meeting with Alexander Novak.

"Today, Iranian Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International Affairs and Trading Amir-Hossein Zamaninia is a member of my delegation, and he is ready to hold talks on this issue as well as on the issue of our working group on energy," Vaezi said ahead of his meeting with Novak.

Novak previously said that Moscow and Tehran were expected to reach an "oil-for-goods" delivery agreement with Iran in the coming weeks. He said later that the deliveries may constitute 100,000 barrels a day and five million metric tons a year.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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