Moscow has joined a short list of capitals willing to deal with the Taliban, signing a fuel deal that could pave the way for Russia to gain future access to Afghanistan’s wealth of natural resources
Russia has joined the short list of capitals willing to trade with the Taliban.
Afghanistan will get 1 million tons of gasoline, 1 million tons of diesel fuel, 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas, and 2 million tons of wheat a year, Taliban Commerce and Industry Minister Nooruddin Azizi announced last week. Russia, like the rest of the international community, does not recognize the Taliban government and officially considers the hard-line Islamist group to be a terrorist organization. But Moscow on multiple occasions hosted Taliban officials amid peace talk efforts prior to the group's forcible takeover of Kabul in August 2021.
Azizi said that Afghanistan would be receiving the commodities at a discount, and the fuel supplies will reportedly be delivered by road via Central Asia. To date, the export of and custom duties from coal have been a key source of revenue for the Taliban. Much of the coal has been trucked to neighboring Pakistan.Aside from coal and agricultural goods such as fruits, nuts, and medicinal herbs, Afghanistan's untapped resources appear to be a potential trade chip.
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