Publish Date: 28 September 2022 - 14:10

TEHRAN, Sep. 28 (MNA) – Taliban has signed a provisional deal with Russia that will see Moscow supplying gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi said.

Azizi told Reuters on Tuesday his ministry was working to diversify its trading partners and that Russia has offered the Taliban administration a discount on average global commodity prices.

Azizi said the deal would involve Russia supplying around one million tonnes of gasoline, one million tonnes of diesel, 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas and two million tonnes of wheat annually.

He said the agreement would run for an unspecified trial period, after which both sides were expected to sign a longer-term deal if they were content with the arrangement.

The deal was finalized after an Afghan technical team spent several weeks in discussions in Moscow, having stayed on after Azizi visited there last month.

ZZ/PR