Donald Trump said on Friday that he reached an agreement with Vladimir Putin to immediately release Russian diesel into the global market, including 300,000 tonnes at once. The move came with a temporary US Treasury license that let Russian diesel enter the market shortly after Trump’s announcement.
Trump said Putin also agreed to release 500,000 tonnes in November and another 1 million after that. Trump wrote on Truth social that “Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!”
US Treasury and diesel supply
The immediate release gives the deal an unusual shape: a political announcement first, then a Treasury license that makes the commercial flow possible. The numbers Trump gave point to a large export push, not a symbolic gesture, because 300,000 tonnes would hit the market right away and the follow-on volumes would extend the supply effect into November and beyond.
For buyers, the practical issue is whether more Russian diesel actually reaches the market quickly enough to move prices. The average diesel price in the US was $6.28 a gallon, according to the AAA, after falling from a record high of $6.53 at the end of September.
Volodymyr Zelensky response
Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back hard. He said “gifts to Putin will not work for peace” and added that allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is “an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.”
Zelensky also described Russia’s “years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector,” and said on Friday: “Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure.” Kirill Dmitriev said “Russia-US co-operation on diesel and energy will benefit the world.”
and price pressure
The said it contacted the White House for comment on what reimbursement the US is providing Russia. That question matters because the arrangement is not just about supply; it is also about what Moscow receives in return for opening diesel exports.
The price backdrop is already severe. Diesel prices in the US had doubled since the war with Iran began in February, Brent remained above $103 a barrel, and the International Energy Agency estimated that Russia’s diesel production had fallen by nearly 30 percent. Before the war with Iran, Brent was trading at about $73 a barrel.
The immediate test is whether the announced barrels and tonnes translate into cheaper fuel fast enough for Americans and other diesel buyers to notice, or whether the Treasury license mostly changes the trade channel while prices keep moving on broader market forces.
