The deal when finalized would be a big step in strengthening relations between the EEU member states: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyztan and Armenia, with Iran, and a victory for the body itself, the report published yesterday in Financial Times reads.
“The EEU’s prime ministers resolved in March to make talks with Tehran a priority, scenting an opportunity to expand beyond the bloc’s combined market of 183m people,” according to the British newspaper.
“We believe we can come up with something substantial by the end of the year . . . finished talks,” Financial Times quotes Timur Suleimenov, Kazakhstan’s minister of economy.
The report highlights that the efforts by the economic bloc’s members, headed by Russia, for extending ties with Iran are made amid the US President Donald Trump’s provoking rhetoric asserted in his recent visits to Saudi Arabia and the occupied Palestine.
Financial Times also refers to the geopolitical cooperation between Iran and Russia, particularly the war against terrorism in Syria.
“The two countries have sought to deepen their relationship since the EU and US imposed sanctions on Moscow in 2014,” adds the report.
A treaty aiming for the establishment of the EEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015.
The economic bloc member states and Iran have already emphasized their eagerness on expanding mutual ties, and various steps, including cutting tariffs, and free-trade zones, have been taken to clear the way for strengthening the economic relations.