Trump: Russia Will Supply America and Global Markets with Diesel

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia had agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the United States and global markets, a move aimed at lowering fuel prices ahead of the midterm congressional elections scheduled for November.

The step comes as diesel prices, used in agriculture, home heating, and truck freight, approach record levels ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, which will determine which party controls Congress.

Trump said in a social media post that he had a “very successful” conversation with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, during which they agreed that Russia would immediately supply diesel.

In a post on X on Friday, shortly after the call, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, praised cooperation between Russia and the United States in the diesel and energy sectors. Trump said Russia would supply an additional 500,000 tons in November, and another million tons “immediately thereafter.”

Trump added that larger quantities would follow later, “based on the condition of Russian diesel refineries” damaged by attacks during Russia’s war on Ukraine. This unusual move comes as the United States has imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies over its war on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

On Friday, the Treasury Department issued a general license permitting the import of Russian diesel until April 7 of next year.

Diesel prices have surged by 70 percent since the start of Iran’s war this year, despite two prominent steps recently taken by US President Donald Trump to increase supplies: pressuring allies to draw from emergency reserves and expanding the use of tax-exempt red diesel.