The de facto Taliban regime in Afghanistan has increased oil imports from Russia, rising from 246,000 tons in 2022 to more than 710,000 tons in the past 11 months, resulting in the expansion of oil trade to more than $300 million, according to Taliban officials.
The means by which the sanctions-burdened Taliban financial sector facilitates substantial payments from Afghanistan to Russia remains unclear.
International sanctions have limited banking transactions with Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in 2021.
The United States has granted exemptions to sanctions, primarily for humanitarian operations, on the condition that they do not benefit Taliban leaders and entities.
Last year, Taliban officials entered into a provisional agreement with Russia to import 1 million tons of gasoline, 1 million tons of diesel, and 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas.
"While the Taliban and Russia are under separate Western sanctions, there is nothing that restricts their ability to trade with each other outside of the U.S. and Western financial systems and jurisdictions,” Kimberly Donovan, director of Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Wilson Center, told VOA.
The U.S. has not imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports, but Washington and its European allies have implemented a price cap on Russian oil sales, aiming to reduce Russia's revenues for its war in Ukraine.
“The oil price cap is a mechanism to allow Russian crude oil and petroleum products to continue flowing on global markets while reducing the revenue that goes to fund Putin's war,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department State told VOA in written comments.
Russia's oil exports to Afghanistan are deemed insignificant, considering that the country's net oil revenues surpassed $11 billion only in October.
Regional trade
Under the Taliban, Afghanistan's economy experienced a 25% contraction as foreign development assistance ceased, and no growth is anticipated this year, according to the World Bank.
Despite international isolation, the Taliban has sustained robust trade relations with several countries in the region. Imports from January to October 2023, totaling more than $6.3 billion, were 25% higher than last year.
While relations between Islamabad and Kabul have recently deteriorated because of refugee expulsions and security concerns, Pakistan has remained Afghanistan's top trading partner, with Pakistan’s exports to its neighbor exceeding $1.37 billion this year.
In November Afghanistan's exports were valued at $227 million, with imports standing at $681 million, as reported by a Taliban official to local Tolonews TV.
Food items and coal are noted as Afghanistan's primary exports to various countries.
“Coal exports reached $252 million in the past 11 months,” Abdul Salaam Jawad, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce, said in a short video posted on X.
One Afghan factory, Jawad said, exported 60 tons of raisins to Russia.
Russia’ ambiguity
Moscow and Beijing have both maintained diplomatic and trade relations with Afghanistan, but Russia alone has hosted some anti-Taliban figures advocating for the removal of Taliban regime.
“Russia's general policy toward the Taliban seems to be ambivalent, keeping all doors open,” Thomas Ruttig, an expert with Afghanistan Analysts Network, wrote to VOA in an email.
“Russia's relations with the Taliban are not so much about Afghanistan, or the Taliban. It is rather one element in the global competition between the U.S./the West and Russia and China."
During a meeting on Afghanistan at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya said the Taliban prevented the collapse of the country in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
However, the Russian diplomat expressed concerns about the risks of terrorism emanating from a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
“It is clear that in order to fully eliminate the terrorists, what is being done by the Taliban is not enough while risks of spillover to Central Asia remain very real,” he said.
While Nebenzya called for humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, Russia has not contributed to a U.N.-led Afghanistan humanitarian appeal this year, which remains 60% underfunded. In contrast, the United States has contributed more than $370 million to the appeal.
Some information for this article came from Reuters.
