KABUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) – The Taliban have signed an interim deal with Russia to supply gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s Minister of Trade and Agriculture told Reuters. ‘Acting Industry, Haji Nooruddin Azizi.
Azizi said his ministry was working to diversify its trading partners and that Russia had offered the Taliban administration a discount on average world commodity prices.
The move, the first known major international economic deal struck by the Taliban since it returned to power more than a year ago, could help ease the isolation of the Islamist movement that has effectively cut it off from the global banking system.
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No country officially recognizes the group, which fought a 20-year insurgency against Western forces and their local Afghan allies before pushing into Kabul as US troops retreated.
Western diplomats said the group needed to change course on human rights, especially women’s rights, and prove that it had severed ties with international militant groups in order to gain official recognition.
Russia does not officially recognize the Taliban government, but Moscow hosted leaders of the movement on the eve of the fall of Kabul and its embassy is one of the few remaining open in the Afghan capital.
Azizi said the deal would involve Russia supplying around one million tons of gasoline, one million tons of diesel, 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and two million tons of wheat annually.
Russia’s energy and agriculture ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal. The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in charge of oil and gas, also did not immediately respond.
Azizi said the deal would last for an unspecified trial period, after which the two sides had to sign a longer-term deal if they were happy with the arrangement.
He declined to give details on pricing or payment methods, but said Russia had agreed to a discount in world markets on goods that would be delivered to Afghanistan by road and rail.
The deal was finalized after an Afghan technical team spent several weeks in talks in Moscow following Azizi’s visit last month.
ECONOMY IN CRISIS
Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan has been plunged into economic crisis after the withdrawal of development aid the country relied on and amid sanctions that have largely frozen the banking sector.
The trade deal is likely to be watched closely in the United States, whose officials have held regular talks with the Taliban over plans for the country’s banking system.
Washington has announced the creation of a Swiss trust fund for part of the Afghan central bank’s reserves held in the United States. The Taliban demanded the release of the full amount of around $7 billion and said the funds should be used for central bank operations.
Azizi said international data showed most Afghans lived below the poverty line and his office was working to support trade and the economy through international outreach.
“Afghans are in need,” he said. “Whatever we do, we do it based on the national interest and the benefit of the people.”
He added that Afghanistan also receives gas and oil from Iran and Turkmenistan and has strong trade ties with Pakistan, but also wants to diversify.
“A country…shouldn’t depend on just one country, we should have alternative means,” he said.
The Group of Seven (G7) countries are trying to find ways to limit Russia’s oil export revenue following its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Moscow has managed to maintain its revenue thanks to increased rough sales to Asia, particularly China and India. The European Union will ban imports of Russian crude oil by December 5 and Russian petroleum products by February 5.
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Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Jane Merriman
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