President Donald Trump said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will release thousands of tons of diesel fuel onto the global market amid the ongoing war with Iran.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social and said the deal would will help bring diesel prices down.
“Today, at President Trump’s direction, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is immediately issuing a temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the global market,” the Treasury Department said on X.
A document posted to the Treasury’s website said that “the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 7, 2027.“
A statement from Russia said that Putin informed Trump of Russia’s “readiness to supply oil and petroleum products to the US and global markets.”
In response to multiple Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy assets earlier this year, the Kremlin imposed a diesel fuel export ban in July. It has since been extended through the end of October.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak informed state news agency TASS that his country would promptly commence lifting its export ban in response to the Trump-Putin agreement.
Trump has publicly pleaded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop bombing Russia’s diesel refinery plants.
“The problem I have with Ukraine and Russia is that, you know, a lot of the diesel comes … from Russia, and the Russia plants are being hit by Ukraine,” Trump told reporters recently. “And I’ve asked President Zelenskyy not to hit the diesel plants.”
Zelenskyy has denied that he had agreed to stop targeting Russian energy assets, telling CBS News he would stop striking oil and gas targets if Russia agreed to the same.
“We can only protect ourselves from this terror by working together, and we discussed how the United States can help save lives,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
“This is a matter of political will, and it is now important to show leadership and fully cut off the financial flows sustaining Russia’s war machine.”
