The Trump administration moved Friday to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel as President Donald Trump said Moscow had agreed to release large quantities of the fuel and suggested the U.S. could be a buyer.
The surprise move comes as the Trump administration has struggled to bring the record diesel prices — caused by the ongoing war against Iran as well as Ukrainian attacks against Russian refineries — under control ahead of the midterm elections.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had just “concluded a highly successful discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Putin agreed to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel “to the American and Global Marketplace.”
“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Treasury Department said in a post on X that it was “immediately issuing a temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the global market.”
Moscow has restricted diesel exports in recent months as Ukraine has accelerated its attacks on Russian refineries, contributing to the global shortage of the fuel. It is unclear how Russia will supply the large quantities of the fuel promised by Trump with a large chunk of its refineries out of commission.
