India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are discussing limited and temporary trade arrangements covering selected groups of goods as part of negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said.Reshtnikov described the negotiations as “complex” and said that the Indian side’s requests were “very ambitious.”“Things are more complicated with India: the economy is larger, and the common interests are more complex, so to speak,” he said in an interview with the “Vesti” program, according to what was reported by the state news agency TASS. “And frankly, the requests of our colleagues are also very ambitious.”“Therefore, we are currently discussing the establishment of a limited and temporary free trade zone, that is, for a list of specific goods by product groups,” he added.Reshetnikov’s comments came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that negotiations on trade liberalization between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have gained momentum.Speaking during a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in the Kazakh capital Astana, TASS quoted Putin as saying: “Last year trade agreements were concluded with Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Indonesia, which led to the intensification of negotiations on trade liberalization with India.”
The Russian President added that the Eurasian Union supports launching talks on free trade agreements with new partners, and that all aspects of this cooperation will be carefully analyzed.The Eurasian Economic Union is a five-member economic bloc that includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Founded in 2015, the group aims to promote economic integration through a common market, remove trade barriers and coordinate economic policies among member states.The FTA process between India and the Eurasian Economic Union has gained momentum in recent years.In August 2025, India and the Eurasian Economic Union signed the Terms of Reference to formally begin negotiations on a free trade agreement. At that time, the two sides said that bilateral trade volume would reach $69 billion in 2024, up 7 percent from the previous year.The first round of negotiations was held in November last year.