MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will sign a free trade zone agreement by the end of the year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper.

"A free trade agreement between Indonesia and the EAEU, of which Russia is a member, will open new horizons for cooperation. We are moving towards this goal at a fairly fast clip. A joint statement on the completion of the negotiations was adopted on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. We expect the agreement to be signed before the end of this year," the top Russian diplomat said.

Lavrov went on to say that Russia and Indonesia are implementing a number of major joint projects, "including a project operated by the Russian company Rosneft and its Indonesian partner Pertamina to build a refinery and a petrochemical complex outside the town of Tuban, East Java Province."

"Negotiations are underway for the Russian economic operators to participate in the hydrocarbon production off the Indonesian shelf, as well as in the oil and LNG supplies," he continued. "Other promising ideas are on the table as well."

Earlier, the Jakarta Globe newspaper wrote with reference to Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono that Indonesia and the EAEU will sign a free trade zone agreement in Russia in December.