According to experts, Iran could become a full member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in the coming years. A free trade agreement between the EAEU and the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently being negotiated, according to Vladimir Putin, who met his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow on December 7.
Relations between Moscow and Tehran are also on a stable development path, with Putin noting that trade turnover rose 20% last year to almost $5 billion. According to experts interviewed by Izvestia, Moscow attaches great importance to Russia's relations in the Middle East.
Boris Dolgov, a senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that building ties with the Arab-Muslim world is a potentially new trend in today's Russian foreign policy . "These visits and negotiations confirm the expansion of Russia's cooperation with these countries and the increase of its influence and weight in the region, as well as Russia's image as a great power," he said.
Experts pointed out that economic relations between Russia and Iran have long been on a residual basis and the potential for bilateral economic cooperation is far from being exhausted. According to Sergei Katyrin, head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, economic turnover between Russia and Iran could reach $40 billion per year in the near future.
Rajab Safarov, general director of the Center for the Study of Modern Iran, says the Islamic Republic is interested in full membership in the EAEU. "Iran has signed a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, but that is not full membership. We have spoken to the Iranian leadership and they understand the need to move in this direction. I believe that Iran will join the EAEU in two or three years, if not sooner. "As a result, the Republic's exports will increase by at least 30%, and in some countries even by up to 40%," he told the newspaper. According to the expert, the increased sanctions pressure from the West only helps to facilitate economic rapprochement between Russia and Iran.