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US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release diesel onto US and global markets, a move he said would help ease soaring energy costs amid the war with Iran.
“Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 tons during the month of November,” Trump said on social media following talks with Putin.
The US Treasury Department also said it was issuing a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel to enter global markets.
The White House did not immediately clarify who would pay for the Russian diesel or when supplies under the agreement would become available. It also did not say whether further deliveries expected next month would arrive before the 3 November midterm elections.
Trump’s announcement comes just a month after he signed sweeping sanctions against Russia aimed at targeting its energy sector and other industries helping finance its war in Ukraine.
The move raises questions over whether the White House will impose further sanctions on Russia this month, as required by bipartisan legislation targeting major importers of Russian oil and gas.
Trump made no mention of the sanctions or Russia’s war in Ukraine, instead saying: “Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev reposted the Treasury Department’s announcement on X Friday and said that “Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world.”