Trump Lifts US Sanctions on Russian Diesel Exports to Combat Surging Fuel Prices

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Russia has agreed to supply millions of barrels of diesel to global markets following a phone call with President Vladimir Putin. The decision arrives as Mr Trump encounters mounting domestic political pressure to lower rising diesel prices, which have surged due to supply constraints stemming from the Iran war and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries ahead of November's midterm elections.

Detailing the agreement in a social media post, Mr Trump stated that Russia will immediately provide more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to the US and global marketplace. This will be followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and an additional 1 million tonnes "immediately thereafter." Mr Trump noted that, "based on the condition of their diesel refineries," Russia is set to deliver a total of 3 million tonnes of diesel fuel "within a short period of time."

In response to the agreement, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a correspondent general licence permitting the sale of Russian-origin diesel fuel through midnight on April 7, 2027. However, the department clarified that the general licence does not authorize any debits to accounts held at US financial institutions by Russia's central bank, its national wealth fund, or its finance ministry.

The policy change faced swift criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who argued that permitting Russia to sell its petroleum products "is an investment in war that needs to end, not continue."