US President Donald Trump has opened the American market to Russian diesel, reversing years of sanctions pressure on Moscow just three weeks after signing a law to punish buyers of its energy, as record fuel prices threaten his party in next month’s midterm elections.
Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached the supply deal in a phone call that had been expected to focus on suspected plague cases in Russia.
According to Trump, Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the United States and global markets, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November, and an additional one million tonnes after that.
A further three million tonnes would follow “within a short period of time”, depending on the condition of Russia’s refineries, he said.