Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said that Iran is interested in strengthening the economic and banking cooperation with Russia and opening joint banks for mutual payments in rubles and rials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Tehran is interested in increasing economic cooperation with Moscow after the anti-Iran sanctions are lifted, including transitioning to trade in national currencies, Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said Monday.
"Iran is interested in strengthening the economic and banking cooperation with Russia and opening joint banks for mutual payments in rubles and rials," Sanaei wrote in his livejournal blog.


On Saturday, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations lifted sanctions targeting Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified Tehran’s compliance with a nuclear agreement reached in July 2015.

In December 2015, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said Russia and Iran were likely to start transactions in national currencies, adding that the trade turnover between the two countries was estimated at around $5 billion in five years.

Sanaei said earlier this month that the two countries planned to create a joint account for national currency trade.

By Sputnik