Trump and Putin Agree on Russian Diesel Supplies as U.S. Suspends Sanctions Until April 2027

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia had agreed to supply diesel fuel to the United States and global markets following a phone call with President Vladimir Putin. Trump stated that Russia would deliver more than 300,000 tons immediately, another 500,000 tons in November, one million tons shortly after that, and an additional three million tons later depending on refinery conditions.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 the same day. The license authorises transactions involving the sale, delivery and importation of diesel of Russian origin until 7 April 2027. It is the first such waiver of significant duration since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. A tanker that loaded in St Petersburg in late September is scheduled to arrive in Wilmington, North Carolina, around 11 October carrying roughly 275,000 to 280,000 barrels.

The announcement came amid elevated U.S. diesel prices. AAA data cited in reports put the national average near $6.28 per gallon on Thursday. The International Energy Agency has estimated a global shortfall of about 1.6 million barrels per day of diesel, partly linked to refinery outages in Russia and the Middle East. Trump linked the deal to efforts to lower fuel costs ahead of the November midterm elections.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the arrangement unfair and said Kyiv’s negotiators had been used as a smokescreen. He warned that revenue from the sales would support Russian military operations. Trump responded the following day by saying Ukraine needed a new president, stating that Zelenskyy had lost 30 percent of the country and had failed to end the war.

The Kremlin confirmed the call lasted about 90 minutes and covered the Ukraine conflict, the situation around Iran, and bilateral economic matters. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said the Russian side reaffirmed readiness to supply oil and petroleum products while ruling out an immediate resumption of three-way peace talks. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev publicly welcomed the energy cooperation.

The move follows a bipartisan U.S. sanctions law signed last month that targeted major importers of Russian oil and gas. The temporary diesel license creates a specific exception while leaving broader energy sanctions in place. White House officials did not immediately detail payment mechanisms or exact delivery schedules beyond the volumes Trump announced.

Analysts noted that the initial 300,000-ton tranche equals roughly 2.25 million barrels. U.S. diesel consumption runs near 3.8 million barrels per day, so the first shipments are unlikely to shift pump prices materially on their own. Longer-term volumes could matter more if refinery capacity allows sustained exports.

The deal also sits against ongoing Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refining capacity and Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Both sides have used energy systems as targets as winter approaches. The U.S. license does not alter those battlefield dynamics.

European governments that have continued to buy Russian liquefied natural gas expressed concern about the signal the diesel waiver sends. The European Union paid an estimated 7.9 billion euros for Russian Arctic LNG in the first nine months of 2026 despite efforts to reduce dependence.

The arrangement marks the clearest U.S. policy reversal on Russian fuel exports since the early months of the war. Whether the volumes materialise at the scale announced will depend on Russian refinery output and the practical logistics of shipping under the temporary license.