MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that a swap deal with Iran may initially include 5 million tonnes of oil and 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year, Interfax news agency reported.

Russia hopes to secure the deal by the year-end, he said.

Iran and Russia both are tackling severe Western sanctions and are restricted in their energy sales, while the talks about the swap deal between the two counters have dragged for years.

The deal got a spur following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran in July.

One of the swap deal elements was the sale of Russian gas to northern Iran via Azerbaijan for domestic use, while the corresponding volumes of Iranian gas would be exported from the Gulf.