Cape Town – The Taliban are looking to close a deal with Russia offering minerals and medicinal herbs in exchange for Russian crude oil products.
Business Insider reported that the Taliban’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nuriddin Azizi was in Moscow last week and told Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti that they are willing to pay for the Russian goods with money instead if an exchange deal cannot be agreed on.
“We can supply hundreds of tons of such products to Russia. For example, prices for medicinal herbs are now very high, and Russia needs such raw materials for medicine,” he said.
According to Sputnik News, there are no restrictions on Afghanistan from the US or the EU on such supplies of raw materials, and that Kabul wants to reach an agreement with Moscow by the end of the year to buy some one million tons of gasoline and one million ton of diesel.
“Our priority is to import Russian goods under a barter scheme,” said Azizi. “If operations under this scheme do not work out, then we can use financial transactions.”
The interim Afghan government led by the Taliban came to power in August last year after the withdrawal of US troops from the country. Since then, the group has had to deal with food shortages and economic disarray.
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