Peskov: Russia, Iran will eventually abandon US dollar
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peksov weighs in on the Russian-Iran relationship, which will see economic cooperation in the near future.
Russia and Iran, according to Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, will with time abandon the use of US dollars as they contemplate bilateral trade.
"We all know that trade and economic relations between the two countries slightly exceeded four billion US dollars last year, although it may be wrong to count it in US dollars, and over time, we will probably move away from this practice as we develop our cooperation in the banking financial sector," Peskov said while addressing Putin's coming visit to Iran.
Peskov noted that Moscow and Tehran are friends and reliable partners.
Furthermore, the official said that net trade between Russia and Iran grew 31% over the last few months, describing an upward trend in sales.
Russia and Iran, as he noted, are using the opportunity to build cooperation to ameliorate the effects of sanctions on both countries.
Read more: Kremlin: Sanctions are the price Russia and Iran pay for sovereignty
The Russian official, furthermore, expressed hope that a cooperation agreement will be signed not long after some amendments are approved.
"We hope (the deal will be signed) soon (...) after some additional changes are made and agreed upon, taking into account the opinion of the Iranian side. It will be possible to sign the deal fairly quickly and in the near future," he concluded.
In his visit to Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei.
Putin's aide: Russia, Iran to become strategic partners
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said in a statement today that "Iran is an important partner of Russia, relations are of a friendly nature, have a long history, and are developing very effectively in the widest range of areas. Both sides have plans to bring bilateral cooperation to a new level — the level of strategic partnership. A new interstate agreement is being prepared.”
In other words, Ushakov said that Russia and Iran have plans to elevate their relations to the level of a strategic partnership and that a new deal is being drafted.