This ambiguity was conveyed by a set of financial instruments used by socialist countries, including credits granted on favorable terms and the principle of barter. Gift, Credit, BarterThe Global Cold War was fought on many fronts, and statistics was one of them. This ambiguity was perpetuated by means of barter contracts between Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, which accelerated in the wake of the oil embargo of 1973. Oil obtained in the course of such “petrobarter” agreements was used to satisfy the rapidly increasing demand by the energy-hungry economies in socialist countries. Some of their major destinations, including Iraq under the Baath Party, Syria under Hafez al-Assad, Libya under Gaddafi, and Algeria under Boumédienne, were nominally socialist countries or countries governed by socialist parties.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 07, 2020 11:13 UTC