Via Business Insider, a report that the Taliban have struck a deal with Russia for supplies of key commodities including oil and wheat:

• The Taliban have struck a deal with Russia to purchase supplies of key commodities, including oil and wheat.

• It marks the first major international economic deal the Taliban have made since reclaiming power in Afghanistan last year.

• The deal includes 1 million tons each of gasoline and diesel, 2 million tons of wheat, and 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas a year.

The Taliban have struck a deal with Russia to purchase supplies of key commodities, including oil and wheat, acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters.

It marks the first major international economic deal the Taliban have made since reclaiming power in Afghanistan last year.

The militant group isn’t officially recognized by any country, including Russia, but is set to purchase 1 million tons each of gasoline and diesel, 2 million tons of wheat, and 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas from Moscow a year, according to Reuters.

Azizi said the deal would run for a trial period and could be extended for a longer-term arrangement, adding that Afghanistan would get a discount from global prices.  

To bypass sanctions, Afghanistan’s payments will be transferred to another country before making their way to Russia, Azizi previously said, although he declined to name the country.

The deal comes just a few months ahead of the European Union’s ban on seaborne Russian oil, which will fully kick in by the end of the year. Russia has retaliated against the measure by slashing its gas supplies to Europe, leading energy prices to skyrocket and pushing some countries out of the spot market for gas.

“Afghans are in great need … Whatever we do, we do it based on national interest and the people’s benefit,” Azizi told Reuters.

He added that a nation “shouldn’t be dependent on just one country,” but have multiple suppliers, and noted Afghanistan has also received some gas and oil from Iran and Turkmenistan.

Afghanistan is set to join China and India as buyers of discounted Russian energy since the war in Ukraine began as Western nations shun Moscow as a supplier. Meanwhile, Europe, the US, and some Asian countries face a winter energy crunch as prices continue to soar and the scramble for alternative supplies intensifies.