Consultations on free trade area between EAEU, Israel to be held soon - Medvedev
JERICHO. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Consultations on concluding a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Israel will be held in the near future, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
"The establishment of a free trade area between the Eurasian Economic Union and Israel has been discussed substantively and thoroughly," Medvedev told journalists in summing up outcomes of his visit to Israel and Palestine on Friday.
Russia and Israel exchanged opinions on the matter, and EAEU member-states should now reach a consensus on the matter as Moscow cannot hold such negotiations on its own, he said.
"We should do this taking into consideration consultations existing with the other members of the Eurasian Union, and such consultations will certainly be conducted in the near future. Our Israeli partners have assured us that they are also prepared to hold such negotiations with the other members of our Eurasian Union," Medvedev said.
The establishment of such a free trade area could bring trade and investment cooperation between Russia and Israel to a qualitatively new level, he said.
A free trade area between the EAEU and Vietnam has already started working, and analogous negotiations are under way with 40 other countries, he said.
"The negotiations with Vietnam were not easy. In my opinion, they were even more complicated in some respects than potential negotiations with Israel, and yet we reached agreement," Medvedev said.
