US President Donald Trump is facing a growing backlash over plans to import diesel from Russia as the Iran war continues to impact global energy prices.
Trump on Friday announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately “to the American and global marketplace” followed by several other shipments.
That is despite signing legislation to authorise fresh US sanctions and tariffs on nations that import Russian oil and gas just weeks ago.
The move has been criticised by some Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who believe the deal violates US laws.
As well as the initial release of 300,000 tonnes of diesel, Trump said Russia would then supply 500,000 tonnes in November and one million more after that.
This would be followed by a further three million tonnes, which would be delivered “within a short period” dependent on the condition of its refineries, which have been attacked by Ukraine during the ongoing war between the two countries.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed these numbers to Tass, the country’s state-owned news agency, saying the export volume could reach three million tonnes per month in future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the deal a gift to Putin that amounts to “an investment in a war that must be ended”.
It is understood the US Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April as part of the deal, but other assets like those in American banks are still frozen.
A group of seven senators – four Republicans and three Democrats – on Sunday said the deal violated US laws, urging Trump to “reverse course”.
“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians,” the lawmakers said.
They added that Congress had “explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine”.
The statement was signed by Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis, as well as Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden.
