Russia, as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), is ready to discuss the creation of a free trade zone with Mercosur, the largest economic bloc in Latin America.
This was reported on Monday by "Izvestia" and "Interfax", citing a statement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.
"Russia is also assessing the potential prospects for negotiations with Mercosur, the largest economic bloc in the region, Overchuk said.
This bloc currently includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the newspaper said.
According to the newspaper, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that "on the one hand, we need to analyze how mutually beneficial this would be", while "on the other hand, there is some potential for negotiations, which is currently focused on other countries".
"But we are always open to such a dialogue and, of course, we are interested in expanding opportunities for the economies of the EAEU," Overchuk noted.
We recall that this is happening against the backdrop of the liberalization of trade with Mercosur countries in the European Union (EU) and the protests of farmers in member states.