Desperate Russia forced to accept mandarins instead of money | World | News
Russia is having to resort to desperate measures as it attempts to overcome the constraints of Western sanctions.
The country has established a bartering trading system to allow it to export goods in return for imports, the Moscow Times, an independent news organisation, reports.
The arrangement will see Russia export 20,000 tons of chickpeas, while Pakistan will supply an equivalent amount of rice.
Another contract stipulates that Russia will send 15,000 tons of chickpeas and 10,000 tons of lentils in exchange for 15,000 tons of mandarins and 10,000 tons of potatoes, according to the Russian state media outlet TASS.
The strange trade agreement was decided upon by the two countries at the first Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum in Moscow, as the Kremlin continues to try and find allies across Asia.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent wave of sanctions imposed by the US, EU and UK on the country and key figures in the regime, made their existing methods of trade difficult to continue.
The alternative arrangement allows Russian companies to circumvent sanctions and economic scrutiny due to the absence of bank transactions.
Russia has already attempted to establish a similar relationship with China, although plans to barter for metals and agricultural products have been difficult to agree on.
This type of arrangement was common between China and the Soviet Union as the two communist states relied on one another for development.
In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a three-day summit – during which countering US sanctions on mutual payments was a key focus of their discussions.
Russia has also strengthened its alliance with Iran, with Western sanctions being something the two countries have in common. Iran is believed to have played an important role in supplying Moscow with drones for use on the Ukrainian battlefield, as Russian supplies began to dwindle.
