Iran hopes to sign treaty on relations with Russia in 2023: Official
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Bilateral relations between Iran and Russia could witness the signing of a new treaty to increase trade relations.
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Iranian Ambassador in Moscow Kazem Jalali, October 28, 2022. (Sputnik)
Tehran intends to sign a new treaty on relations with Russia in 2023, capping preparations for a fundamental interstate treaty that started in 2020, Iranian Ambassador in Moscow Kazem Jalali revealed on Wednesday.
"We hope to have this agreement signed by our two governments in 2023," Jalali said in an interview with Russia's Parlamentskaya Gazeta.
The ambassador stated that Tehran had already sent a draft treaty to Moscow and that the parties are now undertaking a thorough final review of the document.
Russia's Ambassador in Tehran Alexey Dedov told Sputnik on February 9 that the document would be strategic in nature, but that it must be "solid, balanced, and represent the new realities of bilateral cooperation."
According to the diplomat, the treaty will outline the major guidelines for further developing the complete complex of Russian-Iranian relations in the coming decades.
Read next: 'Global coalition' must push back against Iran-Russia co-op: Pentagon
Earlier last month, Russia's ambassador to Tehran Alexei Dedov told reporters that trade relations between Russia and Iran have reached a record high of $4.6 billion in 2022, a stark increase of 15% compared to the year prior.
The Russian diplomat added that prospects for further growth are likewise anticipated for the year 2023. "Record trade figures for 2022 are largely due to the fruitful agricultural cooperation between Russian and Iranian companies. Agri-food accounts for about 85% of our trade," Dedov said, noting that the numbers for the year 2022 were not final and that upward revisions are still ongoing.
"Judging by where we stand politically and economically, we obviously expect bilateral trade to keep growing," Dedov said about prospects for growth in 2023.
On January 16, reports revealed that Russia and Iran are discussing the possibility of the two parties expanding their cooperation to include the cryptocurrency sector as Moscow and Tehran mull developing a joint gold-backed stablecoin.
Reports about this cooperation came out after the Executive Director of the Russian Association of the Crypto Industry and Blockchain, Alexander Brazhnikov, told Russian media that the Iranian Central Bank was considering the joint creation of a cryptocurrency with Russia as a form of payment for international transactions.
Read next: Russia, Iran examine use of digital currencies for trade: Ambassador
