US Imports Oil from Russia to Lower Diesel Prices, Reversing Pressure Campaign on Moscow Ahead of Midterms

Washington — US President Trump on Friday announced a diesel supply agreement with Russian President Putin, under which Russia will immediately supply the United States with more than 300,000 tons of diesel, deliver an additional 500,000 tons in November, followed immediately by another 1 million tons, and then add a further 3 million tons "in the near term."

According to NPR, this announcement came less than a month before the November 3 US midterm elections and was viewed as a reversal of Washington's years-long pressure campaign on Moscow. Since the Biden administration in 2022 banned imports of Russian oil and gas on the grounds of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States has not imported a single drop of Russian oil or natural gas.

At the same moment the agreement was announced, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were meeting with Ukrainian officials to discuss a proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, issuing a statement through the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, called the decision a "regrettable, weak decision from a powerful partner."

"I think our team is being used as a smokescreen," he said. "This is certainly not fair. Partners, of course, should not treat each other this way."

In a longer statement issued shortly afterward, Zelensky wrote further that Russia would repay the deal with "further terror and betrayal." He argued that the arrangement "plays directly into Russia's hands — allowing it to kill more, fight longer, respect America less, and inflict greater damage and destruction on the world."

Immediately after Trump's remarks, the US Treasury Department issued a general license exempting Russian diesel already loaded on ships as of Friday from US sanctions, valid through April 2027. NPR noted that this is the first time since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war that the US side has granted an extension of more than the standard 30-day window for diesel sanctions.

Yet barely a month earlier, Trump had signed a comprehensive Russia sanctions bill aimed at striking at the energy revenues Russia uses to sustain its war against Ukraine. The legislation directed the administration to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, while sanctioning Russian officials, banks, and "shadow fleet" tankers, and barring new US investment in Russia.

The bipartisan House-passed law had required Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia this month, but Trump's announcement did not touch on sanctions or the Russian war itself. He stressed on social media: "Lowering prices for Americans, especially our great farmers, ranchers, and truckers, is my highest priority."

Senior Democratic congressman and Joint Economic Committee senior member Don Beyer wrote on X that Trump's announcement was "outrageous." "This is what we warned anyone who would listen about: Trump simply cannot be trusted on Russia," Beyer wrote. "Counting on him to use tariff power to help Ukraine was a mistake. Now he is lifting sanctions on Russian fossil fuels."

According to data from the American Automobile Association, the US retail average price of diesel hit a record high of $6.52 per gallon on September 22 and still stood at $6.23 per gallon this Friday. NPR noted that global oil prices had previously surged due to disruption to the energy industry from the Iran war; although diesel futures prices fell following Friday's news, US domestic retail prices remained at historic highs.

International Energy Agency data show that Russian diesel production has fallen by roughly 30 percent. Since July of this year, Russia has banned diesel exports, as repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have made it difficult to meet domestic demand. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told TASS that Moscow was "immediately beginning to lift diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule" and said Russia could begin shipments to the United States as early as October.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about who would pay for the Russian diesel, when the fuel under the agreement could be delivered, or whether Russian oil originally slated for November delivery could arrive before Election Day. A Kremlin-released statement from Putin, meanwhile, said that Putin and Trump in their phone call "devoted significant attention to the prospects for resolving the Ukraine crisis" and also discussed the situation in Iran and other aspects of bilateral relations.