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Afghanistan
Early Links with the Soviet Union
Afghanistan
Early Links with the Soviet Union
Pakistan's petroleum cutoff over the Pashtunistan issue and
the resulting trade agreement between Afghanistan and the Soviet
Union were major watersheds in bilateral relations. The agreement
was much more than a barter arrangement exchanging Soviet oil,
textiles, and manufactured goods for Afghan wool and cotton; the
Soviets offered construction aid to erect petroleum storage
facilities, to explore oil and gas reserves in northern
Afghanistan, and permission for free transportation of goods
across Soviet territory. This new relationship was attractive not
only because it made it difficult for Pakistan to disrupt the
Afghan economy by blockading or slowing down transshipped goods
but also because it provided a balance to United States aid in
the Helmand Valley Project. After 1950 Soviet-Afghan trade
increased sharply as Soviet technicians were welcomed and a trade
office was opened.
Data as of 1997
