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US President Donald Trump is facing criticism over a plan to import diesel from Russia while the war involving Iran continues to push up global energy prices, according to the BBC.
Trump said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately for the US and global markets, followed by further shipments. The announcement came weeks after Trump signed legislation authorising new US sanctions and tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and gas.
Trump said Russia would supply another 500,000 tonnes in November and one million tonnes after that. A further three million tonnes would be delivered “within a short period”, depending on the condition of Russian refineries damaged in Ukrainian attacks, he said.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the figures to the state-owned Tass news agency and said exports could eventually reach three million tonnes a month.
Senators say the deal violates US law
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the arrangement a gift to Putin and “an investment in a war that must be ended”. The US Treasury is understood to be suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April as part of the deal, while other Russian assets, including those held in US banks, remain frozen.
On Sunday, four Republican and three Democratic senators urged Trump to reverse course, arguing that the deal breached US law. They said the United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continued to kill Ukrainian civilians, and pointed to a 2022 congressional ban on Russian energy imports.
The statement was signed by Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden. Republican Thomas Massie, who has clashed with Trump on several issues, said the US should lift sanctions on all petroleum products.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the agreement would use existing legal channels to help lower prices. He said members of Congress who claimed it could not do so were wrong.
Questions over supply and impact on prices
Fuel prices have risen since the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February, disrupting crude oil supplies. The cost of fuel has become a political issue ahead of next month’s midterm elections, which will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress.
The impact has been particularly significant in agricultural states, where farms rely on diesel to run machinery and transport products. The average US diesel price is $6.28 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September.
Analysts have questioned whether Russia can deliver the promised volumes and how much they would reduce prices. The United States uses about 3.6 million barrels of diesel a day; the BBC reported that the promised 300,000 tonnes this month would amount to approximately half of daily US consumption.
Opposition has also come from abroad. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting have criticised the plan, saying the US and other allies of Ukraine should instead increase pressure on Russia to end the war.
Trump said on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had reached an “energy ceasefire”, without providing further details. Zelensky welcomed the announcement, but Moscow had not responded.
