US President Donald Trump says he has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin under which Moscow will “immediately release” diesel onto the global market.
According to Trump, 300,000 tonnes will be released straight away, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and a further million tonnes after that.
“Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Shortly after the announcement, the US Treasury issued a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel into the market.
Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy to Putin, welcomed the agreement on social media. “Russia-US co-operation on diesel and energy will benefit the world,” he said.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, criticised the deal, saying that easing sanctions on Russia plays into Moscow’s hands and would prolong a war that has to be ended.
“Gifts to Putin will not work for peace,” he wrote on social media, adding that Russia would repay the diesel with “further terror”.
“Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” he said.
Diesel prices in the US have doubled since the war with Iran began in February, increasing pressure on Republicans over the cost of living ahead of the midterm elections.
The average US diesel price currently stands at $6.28 a gallon, according to AAA, down from the record $6.53 recorded at the end of September.
Russia has experienced two waves of severe fuel shortages across the country this year after Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries. The International Energy Agency estimates Russian diesel production has fallen by nearly 30%.
Trump has voiced displeasure over those attacks, blaming them for rising fuel prices. On Friday, Zelensky defended the strikes, describing them as a response to “Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector”.
“Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure,” he said.
What effect the deal will have on fuel prices remains unclear. Brent, the global crude benchmark, is still trading above $103 a barrel, compared with about $73 before the war with Iran.
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on what reimbursement the US is providing Russia in return for the diesel release.
The agreement is the latest effort by the president to lower US fuel costs. Earlier this week, Trump said he was “thinking about” suspending the federal tax on gasoline and announced that so-called red dye diesel would be allowed on US highways without federal tax.
He has also successfully pressured G7 nations into releasing 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from stockpiles to ease supply concerns, and previously supported calls for a ban on diesel exports from the US.
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