Reuters: The Taliban is negotiating with Russia to buy gasoline

The Taliban is finalizing negotiations with Russia regarding Afghanistanʼs purchase of gasoline and benzene.

This was reported by Reuters with reference to representatives of the Ministry of Trade of Afghanistan.

The spokesman of Afghanistanʼs Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Habiburahman Habib, confirmed that an official delegation led by the Ministry of Commerce is in Moscow finalizing contracts for the supply of wheat, gas and oil.

A source in the office of the minister of trade and industry told Reuters that the parties "almost reached an agreement on gasoline and benzene." Now the text of the contract is being worked out.

Although no foreign government, including the Russian one, officially recognizes the Taliban, an official source told reporters that Afghanistan has a plan to make the payments anyway. The interlocutor declined to tell Reuters whether official banks would be used for this. And the press secretaries of the ministries of foreign affairs and energy of Russia did not respond to journalistsʼ requests for comments.

• Official Moscow recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist organization, but at the same time conducts negotiations with it. The Kremlin said that this was a "forced step" in the context of the crisis and humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan.
• In July 2021, a meeting with the Taliban took place in Moscow. Then China and Russia declared their readiness to cooperate with the Taliban, which would allow them to expand their influence in the region.
• In October 2021, the Russians again met with the Taliban in Moscow and promised them humanitarian aid. The next day, Putin said that he wants to get the Islamist movement "Taliban" removed from the list of terrorist organizations.