Afghanistan seeks barter trade with Russia – media

Kabul wants to purchase a million barrels of crude, RIA Novosti reports

Afghanstan wants to import Russian oil, Minister of Industry and Trade Nuriddin Azizi told RIA Novosti on Monday.

“We have offered [Russia] to buy about 1 million [barrels], if [Russia] can send more, then this is not a problem,” Azizi stated.

He also noted that Afghanistan is interested in agreeing on the supply of Russian oil by barter. “The most important thing for us would be the oil and gas project. We would also like to consider the option of barter trade, provided that Russia has a need for some kind of Afghan products,” the minister said.

In May, Afghan Charge d'Affaires in Russia Jamal Nasir Garwal spoke about plans to negotiate with Moscow on the supply of Russian hydrocarbons. “We are determined to reach agreements between Afghanistan and Russia and sign specific deals,” he said. According to the diplomat, Kabul wants to develop economic cooperation with Moscow and is already in talks on business development and finance.

According to RIA, an official trade delegation from Afghanistan is currently in Moscow. Russian Ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, told the outlet the sides will discuss the supply of crude oil, grain and sunflower oil.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section