Russia, Iran mull signing of goods-for-oil agreement

TEHRAN -- Russia hopes to sign a barter contract with Iran to deliver grain and industrial products to its southern neighbor in return for oil from the Islamic republic, visiting Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was quoted as saying by Press TV on Sunday.

"This question was raised. It will affect not only grain, there are broad lists of goods," Ulyukayev told reporters in Tehran on Sunday referring to a meeting earlier in the day with his Iranian counterpart Ali Tayyebnia.

The deal is expected to be reached in near future, Ulyukayev said, adding that the central banks of Russia and Iran are working on the ways to start making payments in the two countries' national currencies, according to the report.

Russia's Ministry of Economy supports the idea of mutual payments in national currencies, but the two countries have not held discussions about time frames yet, he added.

In January, western media reported that Iran and Russia were discussing "oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month" which might help Iran to raise its oil exports by 50 percent to bypass western sanctions.

The barter negotiations would involve Russia's imports of some 500,000 barrels of Iran's oil a day in exchange for the exports of Russia's goods, the reports said.