An oil-for-goods barter system between Iran and Russia is well under way and is not affected by the sanctions imposed on some trade with Iran because of its nuclear program, according to Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.
So far, the system, designed to last five years, is operating on a “very significant scale,” Ryabkov told legislators on April 13 in Moscow. “In exchange for Iranian crude oil supplies, we are delivering certain products,” he said. “This is not banned or limited under the current sanctions regime.”
He said the goods Russia was supplying include grains, construction equipment and other machinery to Iran in return for oil, but didn’t get more specific.
It’s not clear exactly when the bartering began. In December Iran’s Trade Ministry confirmed that it would begin with the delivery of Russian grain to Iran. At that time, the director of Russia’s United Grain Co. said deliveries could exceed 2 million tons a year.
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In the meantime, Moscow and Iran are relying on the system under which Iran supplies Russia with as much as 500,000 barrels of its oil per day in exchange for the Russian goods in a deal that would involve bartering installments of between $6 and $8 billion, worth a total $20 billion.
Full article: How Russia And Iran Are Sidestepping Western Sanctions (Oil Price)
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