Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: The vessel, named Makhachkala, entered Iranian waters on Tuesday and docked at the port, home to the Iranian Navy's Northern Fleet. 

According to Press TV quoting a statement released by the Iranian Army's public relations office, the aim of this trip is to implement the articles of the Joint Commission for Military Cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Russia per the negotiations held between the naval forces of the two countries.

The statement further noted that promoting bilateral maritime relations, developing maritime diplomacy and conducting port visits are also among the objectives of the current naval engagement.  

Meeting with the commander of the Northern Fleet, visiting the city of Bandar-e Anzali and its free zone, holding sports competitions and Passex joint naval drills are among the planned engagements for the visiting Russian vessel.

The development follows remarks last week by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk declaring that Iran and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are expected to sign a free trade zone agreement by the end of the year.

Overchuk reported “progress” in talks between Iran and the EAEU which also include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan saying during an interview with TASS news agency on June 19 that they are in their final stages.

“We very much hope that such an agreement can be signed by the end of the year,” he added

The agreement would replace and expand an interim accord that already provides a reduction in customs duties on hundreds of categories of goods.