Russia wants to include Serbia in the free trade zone of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Vladimir Putin has said, according to RT.

This could open new opportunities for development of business links, Putin said, and added that discussions were underway.

Te broadcaster paid special attention to Putin's meeting in the Kremlin earlier this week with Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

The article about Serbia's possible membership in the EEU also quoted Putin as saying that "the sides also want to improve banking cooperation."

Putin further said that Moscow and Belgrade are exploring the possibility of connecting Serbia to the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and that Russian energy companies are working successfully in the Serbian market, while deliveries of Russian natural gas to the country could reach 3.5 billion cubic meters by 2022.

RT said that the trade bloc was established in 2015 based on the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus and later joined by Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Vietnam - while "more than 40 countries and international organizations, including China, Indonesia, and Iran, as well as some South American countries, have expressed interest in a free trade deal with the EEU."

The trade bloc has also held negotiations with South Korea, Egypt, Iran, and India, RT said.

See at: https://www.b92.net/eng/news/business.php?yyyy=2017&mm=12&dd=21&nav_id=103092