US president Donald Trump says he has agreed a deal with Vladimir Putin to send Russian diesel to the US and world markets, after a phone call between the two leaders. Washington is making a temporary exception to sanctions on Russian diesel, which runs until 7 April next year.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky opposes the deal. Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, and oil and fuel exports are its main source of money for it. Zelensky called the deal an investment in the war and a gift to Putin. He said any easing of limits on Russian energy exports helps Moscow pay for the war against Ukraine.
"The agreement between America and Russia on exporting Russian diesel means more money for the war and more suffering for us," Zelensky said.
Trump spoke to Putin while a Ukrainian team was holding talks with US officials in Florida. Russian assets in American banks remain frozen.
Trump says the deal will cut diesel prices for Americans and for consumers around the world. He says millions of tonnes of diesel will flow to the US and world markets. "This is a big deal. It is about huge amounts of oil coming into our country. And, frankly, I want to thank President Putin."
More than 300,000 tonnes of diesel are due to arrive from Russia right away. The November delivery is 500,000 tonnes, and soon after it Russia is to send another 1 million tonnes. The next three million tonnes are to arrive within a short time, but that depends on the state of Russian refineries.
The Kremlin confirmed the agreement. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said the leaders discussed in detail preparations for large economic projects, including possible deliveries of Russian oil products to the American and world markets. Russian oil and fuel have been under US and European Union sanctions since 2022 because of the aggression against Ukraine.
Analysts doubt that Russia can supply these amounts. It is also unclear whether the deal will have a real effect on prices, because the announced deliveries are only a very small part of world diesel demand.