The Taliban, the fundamentalist group that governs Afghanistan, announced on Tuesday (27) an agreement to import gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat from Russia. The statement comes on the same day the UN said the international community “is losing patience” with the group amid negotiations to unlock resources from the Middle Eastern country.
It is the first major international economic agreement made by the fundamentalists since they took power in August of last year. At the time, the US blocked US$7 billion (R$37.6 billion) of Afghan reserves as a way of putting pressure on the Taliban to reduce human rights violations.
According to the Afghan Ministry of Trade and Industry, the agreement with the Russians involves the annual supply of 1 million tonnes of gasoline, 1 million tonnes of diesel, 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 2 million tonnes of wheat. Transport will be via road and rail.
The exact duration of the agreement is uncertain, but the head of the Afghan portfolio, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, told Reuters that the transactions will undergo a preliminary test before the two countries sign another long-term agreement. He declined to give details on pricing or payment methods, but said Russian goods would be purchased at a lower price than the global market.
Contacted by Reuters, the Russian government had not commented on the agreement until the publication of this text.
No country formally recognizes the Taliban as the political leader of Afghanistan, including Russia. Moscow, however, has maintained ties with fundamentalists since before the fall of the Washington-backed government in Kabul and today maintains its embassy in the Afghan capital – one of the few countries to do so.
The Russian diplomatic representation in Kabul, by the way, was the target of an attack earlier this month, leaving six people dead, including two embassy employees.
In any case, the announcement is also beneficial to Russia. That’s because the country saw its international reserves being blocked by the US, European Union and UK after the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the West drastically reduced the import of Russian fuels and imposed sanctions on the country’s big banks, which impacted the local economy – although not in the way expected by the group led by Washington.
Even so, the trade deal will be closely watched in the United States, where diplomats hold regular talks with the Taliban about plans to unlock the country’s reserves. Only this Tuesday, however, the deputy UN representative in Afghanistan said that the international community is “losing patience” with the fundamentalists.
“There have been some positive developments in the last few months, but they have been too few, too slow and haven’t offset the negatives,” said Markus Potzel.
The statement was echoed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. In a report released on Tuesday, for example, he cited US investigations that the Taliban had “continuous ties” to al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri, killed by Washington in late July. The document also denounces the “severe restrictions” imposed by fundamentalists on Afghan women, in particular the ban on attending schools.
Be that as it may, Russia does not seem overly concerned about the allegations. According to a source with the AFP news agency, the country acted together with China to stop a joint declaration at the UN Security Council against human rights violations in Afghanistan.
At the meeting, Chinese Ambassador Geng Shuang stressed the need to unlock the Islamic nation’s funds “to improve the lives of Afghans and ensure the country’s economic reconstruction.”
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
