Taliban Sign Deal With Russia to Buy Cheap Oil, Gas and Wheat

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban have signed an agreement with Russia to import fuel and wheat at a discount as the country struggles to feed its population and seeks to boost regional trade a year after regaining power.

Items like gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat will be purchased in Russian rubles and at a “special discount,” said Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada, a spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, by phone from Kabul on Wednesday. Preparations are underway to start importing the products “within days or weeks,” he said.