Iran and Russia are negotiating to implement joint natural gas development projects, Trend News Agency reported.

The National Iranian Gas Company’s (NIGC) Managing Director, Hamid Reza Araqi, said that negotiations to the same effect had been held between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russia’s Gazprom, Press TV informed.

As further stated by Araqi, one of the projects which both countries are planning to jointly carry out is the exports of natural gas. Accordingly, the two sides have formed a joint working group to study gas export to Europe and Eastern Asia.

However, Araqi noted that no joint project has been determined so far.

The Managing Director highlighted that Iran and Russia do not consider themselves as gas market rivals, and emphasized that both countries would benefit from cooperating with each other in the sector.

The announcement of possible Iran-Russia cooperation over joint gas projects came before a planned visit to Moscow by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.