Ahmad Asadzadeh addressed the coordination meeting of the Joint Economic Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation between Iran and Russia, which was held on Sunday.

"We hope to open new spaces in cooperation with Russia in the new round of joint activities,” he said.

"We are looking to finalize the text of the draft agreement with Russia," he said, adding: “In the new round of holding a joint economic commission with Russia, we will try to pursue the issues in an orderly, serious and purposeful manner, so that, God willing, we will see tangible growth in the level of bilateral economic relations in the next few years.”

The Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International Affairs and Trade stated that Iran’s exports to Russia are currently $500 million and imports are $1 billion, which is not commensurate with the relations between the two countries and should be balanced, adding that Iran is ready to cooperate with Russia in oil and gas sectors and the two countries can have constructive, long-term and strategic cooperation in this field.

He stressed: "Iran and Russia have very high capacities in terms of oil and gas reserves and geopolitical position, and with the cooperation of each other and some other large countries, they can figure out new equations in the field of international economy."