Russia and Iran bilateral trade in the first 8 months increased 1.5 times higher in comparison with same period of the last year.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The trade turnover between Russia and Iran in the first 8 months of 2016 was 1.5 times higher than during the same period of the last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday at the talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.

“I can happily cite our statistics, which shows that during the 8 months of this year, trade turnover between Russia and the Islamic republic of Iran has risen by 1.5 times,” Lavrov said. Zarif and Lavrov are currently holding talks in Moscow, mostly focusing on the Syrian crisis. Later, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will also join the discussion. In August, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said that in the first five months of 2016, trade grew over 70 percent in year-on year terms, amounting to over $855 million, adding that boosting trade with Iran was a priority for Russia.

By Sputnik