Trump springs surprise with Russia diesel deal after Putin talks

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump struck a deal with Russia for the supply of diesel to the US and global markets, weeks after the US Congress authorised him to impose steep tariffs on top purchasers of oil and gas from Moscow.

Trump announced the deal on Friday after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a move that drew sharp criticism from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Democratic leaders and a section of Republicans.

Minutes after Trump's announcement on Truth Social, the US Department of Treasury lifted sanctions on Russia for supplying diesel to the global market, including the US until April 7 next year.

Trump’s surprise announcement came weeks after the US Congress passed a law on September 16, seeking to impose steep tariffs against top purchasers of Russian oil and gas.

“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He said Russia would supply another 500,000 tonnes of diesel in November, followed by one million tonnes immediately thereafter.

"Additionally, based on the condition of their diesel refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 tonnes of diesel fuel," Trump said.

The announcement comes as the US battles high fuel prices amid the war on Iran, which has become a key issue in the midterm elections on November 3.

Several opinion polls have predicted that it would be tough for the Republican Party to retain control of the US Congress in the midterm elections.

Trump said the US' control of the Strait of Hormuz, along with the proposed Russian diesel supplies, would bring down fuel prices sharply.

"Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post.

“Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” Zelenskyy said.

US House Representative Don Bacon posted on X, "70% of Americans support Ukraine. Propping up Putin’s war economy is morally wrong as he uses that money to bomb cities. The President’s policies towards Russia and Ukraine are failures. We need moral clarity not moral ambiguity."

US Senator Richard Blumenthal, the co-author of the Russia sanctions act, has slammed Trump's deal with President Putin to buy diesel from Moscow, terming the move as an embarrassment.

Blumenthal, along with late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, had authored the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which was passed by both Houses of US Congress with an overwhelming majority on September 16. Trump signed the Act into a law two days later.

It was Blumenthal who had warned China and India to clean up your act and buy oil from elsewhere soon after the US Congress passed the Russia sanctions act on September 16.

“If Trump keeps cutting (illegal) oil deals with Russia, we may just have to start sanctioning ourselves,” Congressman Dave Min, a Democrat from California, said.

“Unfortunately, while I understand the desire to bring down diesel prices, I am concerned the lifting of sanctions on Russian oil will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine emboldening more violence and destruction, as we have seen in recent days,” Michael McCaul, Republican Congressman from Texas, said on X.

The average cost of diesel in the US was USD 6.28 per gallon on Friday, up from USD 3.68 a year ago.

Last month, Trump was planning a ban on US diesel exports, but had to shelve it after the oil and gas industry said such a move could lead to global shortages, causing an increase in prices.