US President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring Russian diesel to the United States. The move is a sharp reversal of years of American pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. Trump announced the Trump Putin diesel deal on social media after a phone call with the Russian leader.
What the diesel deal includes
Russia will send more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US right away, according to Trump. Another 500,000 tonnes are due in November, followed by 1 million tonnes soon after. A further 3 million tonnes would arrive within a short period, bringing the total to about 4.8 million tonnes.
The White House did not say who would pay for the fuel or when the first cargoes would land. The Kremlin said Putin confirmed Russia’s readiness to supply oil products to American and global markets. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov would not say whether Washington made any concessions.
Sanctions relief and the new law
The US Treasury quickly issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel to reach global markets. It is the first diesel easing beyond the standard 30-day window since the Ukraine war began in February 2022. Sanctions will not apply until April 2027 to Russian diesel that was loaded onto tankers as of Saturday.
The step contrasts with a sweeping sanctions law Trump signed in September. Congress passed it by a wide margin. It directs tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five buyers of Russian oil or gas, with some exceptions. The US has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022.
Russia has banned diesel exports since July because Ukrainian strikes on refineries cut its domestic supply. The International Energy Agency says Russian diesel output has fallen about 30 percent. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow is lifting the export limits early.
Reaction from Kyiv and Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a weak decision by strong partners. He said the US negotiating team was being used as a smokescreen. The announcement came while US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting Ukrainian officials in Miami on a proposal to end the war.
Democratic senators Chuck Schumer, Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren called the deal a betrayal of Ukraine and US allies. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor of the sanctions law, said it makes the US complicit in Putin’s war.
Market analysts were less sure of the price effect. Clayton Seigle of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the impact on prices is probably small, though it helps Russia. Michael Lynch of the Energy Policy Research Foundation said the supply would mostly redirect existing buyers elsewhere.
Why diesel prices matter beyond the US
The US average diesel price stood at $6.28 a gallon, according to AAA. That is down from a record $6.52 on Sept. 22. Global fuel markets have tightened because of the war in Iran, and the midterm elections are only weeks away.
The squeeze is also felt in Pakistan. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told a National Assembly committee this week that regional tensions had disrupted fuel supplies, as Geo News reported. He said about 70 percent of the country’s diesel is refined locally. Petrol has already climbed to Rs398.96 a liter.
Sources: Associated Press, Geo News, Kremlin statement.
