Russia has invited Iran to sell crude oil on the St. Petersburg commodity exchange. An Iranian source told a RIA Novosti news agency correspondent that Tehran “will closely study” the Russian proposal.

“The Russian side has proposed that our Iranian partners consider the possibility of selling a part of Iran's oil on the St. Petersburg Commodity Exchange,” Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said on Monday after his trip to Tehran.

“We believe that this is a relevant decision today when oil producing countries are seeking to diversify their trade infrastructure on the world oil market,” he added.

During the trip Shmatko met with Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari and President of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Agazade, to discuss a number of oil and gas projects between Russia and Iran.

“The parties expressed their readiness to implement these projects both on a bilateral basis and in the markets of third countries,” Shmatko said.

Further, the two countries agreed to continue monitoring the progress of ongoing projects.