Russia and allies to sign trade pact with Iran
Russia and its ex-Soviet allies will sign a free trade pact with Iran, the Kremlin said Friday.
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the deal between Iran, Russia and other members of the Moscow-dominated Eurasian Economic Union is set to be signed next week. The grouping includes Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
While Ushakov noted that the pact's signing had been planned for long time, the move coincides with the US exit from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that set the stage for re-imposing painful economic sanctions against Iran and rattled many US allies.
