On August 7, 2022, Taliban fighters stand guard in the Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e Barchi, Kabul, Afghanistan. EBRAHIM NOROOZI AP KABUL - The Taliban have signed a provisional deal with Russia to supply gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters.
Azizi said his ministry was working to diversify its trading partners and that Russia had offered the Taliban administration a discount on average global commodity prices.
The move, the first major international economic deal struck by the Taliban since they returned to power a year ago, could help to ease the Islamist movement's isolation that has effectively cut it off from the global banking system.
No country recognizes the group, which fought a 20 year insurgency against Western forces and their local Afghan allies before sweeping into Kabul as U.S. troops withdrew.
Western diplomats said the group needed to change its course on human rights, particularly those of women, and prove it has cut ties with international militant groups in order to gain formal recognition.
Russia doesn't officially recognize the Taliban government, but Moscow hosted leaders of the movement in the run-up to the fall of Kabul, and its embassy is one of only a handful of remaining open in the Afghan capital.
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The deal will involve Russia providing 500,000 tons of gasoline, one million tons of diesel, 500,000 tons of petroleum gas and two million tons of wheat annually, according to Azizi.
Russia's energy and agriculture ministries did not respond to requests for comment on the agreement. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is in charge of oil and gas, did not immediately respond.
Azizi said that the agreement would run for an unspecified trial period, after which both sides were expected to sign a longer term deal if they were satisfied with the arrangement.
He didn't say anything about pricing or payment methods, but said Russia had agreed to a discount on global 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 discussions in Moscow, after Azizi visited there last month.
A man distributes bread to Burka-wearing Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this Dec. 2, 2021 file photo. PETROS GIANNAKOURIS AP Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan has been plunged into an economic crisis after development aid was cut and sanctions that have largely frozen the banking sector.
The United States has been watching closely for the trade deal, as officials have held regular talks with the Taliban on plans for the country's banking system.
Washington has created a Swiss trust fund for some of the Afghan central bank reserves held in the United States. The Taliban have demanded the release of the entire amount of around US $7 billion, and said the funds should be used for central bank operations.
Azizi said international data showed that most Afghans were living below the poverty line, and his office was working to support trade and the economy through international outreach.
Afghans are in great need, he said. We do whatever we do based on national interest and the people's benefit. He said that Afghanistan received some gas and oil from Iran and Turkmenistan and had strong trade ties with Pakistan, but also wanted to diversify.
He said that a country shouldn't be dependent on one country, we should have alternative ways of doing so.
The Group of Seven nations are trying to limit Russia's oil export earnings after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February.