US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia will immediately supply diesel to the United States after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Russia would deliver over 300,000 tonnes at once, another 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes soon after. He said a further 3,000,000 tonnes would follow within a short period.
Trump said the supplies, together with US control of the Strait of Hormuz, would bring diesel prices down. Fuel prices have become an issue ahead of the US midterm elections on 3 November.
The announcement came after the US Congress passed a law on 16 September to impose tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised the deal. “Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world,” he said. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-author of the sanctions law, also criticised it.
Fuel costs in the United States can affect global oil prices, which matter to Sri Lanka’s import bill and fuel prices at home.