Trump eases Russia sanctions, says Putin will release diesel as prices spike
NBC News · LC · trust 59/100
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social and said the action would will help bring diesel prices down.
Since its illegal invasion of Ukraine, wide-ranging sanctions have been applied to Russia. In order to get the diesel fuel moved, the Treasury Department simultaneously announced Friday that it would be easing sanctions on Russia through April 7.
“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 .
In a separate statement, Putin said that he had informed Trump of Russia’s “readiness to supply oil and petroleum products to the US and global markets.” Putin did not offer any specifics, however, such as when a potential release would begin or how much fuel it would entail.
Since the start of the Iran war in February, the price of diesel fuel has soared almost 70%, and economists have warned that the price hikes will have wide-ranging inflationary effects on the global economy.
In recent weeks, sharp escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war have caused diesel to spike even further, and for multiple weeks the price of diesel set repeated all-time records.
After multiple Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy assets earlier this year, the Kremlin in July imposed a diesel fuel export ban. It has since been extended through the end of October.
Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told state news agency TASS that his country would immediately begin lifting its export ban as a result of 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.”
“That’s what’s driving it up,” Trump said, referring to the cost of diesel. Ukraine, he added, has “Got to stop.”
On Sept. 14, Trump claimed that Zelenskyy and Putin had agreed to stop targeting energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy, however, denied that he had agreed to stop targeting Russian energy assets, telling CBS News he would only stop striking oil and gas targets if Russia agreed to the same terms.
But the Kremlin has increased its targeting of Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure this summer and fall.
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“We can only protect ourselves from this terror by working together, and we…
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