The Russian official noted that the trade turnover increased to $2b last year, TASS reported on Tuesday.

Trade relations between the two countries increased after anti-Iran sanctions were removed as a result of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

However, the United States’ unilateral pullout from the nuclear deal in 2018 and the reimposition of sanctions against Iran have created obstacles in the way of expansion of trade ties between Iran and Russia.

Russia, as one of the signatories to the nuclear deal, has repeatedly denounced the US illegal sanctions against Iran and has tried to continue its economic relations with Tehran.

Morgulov said the two countries’ trade turnover amounted to $1.74b in 2018 and $1.58b in the period between January and September 2019.

Agriculture products are the backbone of the trade between Tehran and Moscow. Trade turnover in the agriculture sector amounted to 1.28b in the period between January and September 2019, an increase of 41.6% year-on-year.

Russia’s exports to Iran include machinery, steel, wagons, wood, vegetable oil, corn, barley, red meat, and other goods, while its imports from Iran are mostly dairy products, vegetables, and fruits.

“We hope that the temporary agreement, which is aimed at creation of a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), will give an extra impetus to the expansion of ties,” Morgulov said, adding that the agreement “was enforced last October.”

After several years of negotiations, Iran and the EEU reached a free trade agreement in early 2019, which came into force in late October.

Based on this agreement, about 840 commodity items are subject to preferential tariffs, which means tariffs on some goods are reduced and for some commodities, tariffs are levied.

Iran is a very important market in the region and the development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EEU members.

Signing the free trade agreement between Iran and this union has laid the ground for the expansion of trade ties between the two sides.

Iran said in February that its trade volume with the union surpassed $1 billion since the implementation of the agreement between the two sides.