Trump announced on 9 October that the United States would buy Russian diesel, and the White House said on 21 October that the deal would bring prices down.
The New York Times reports the administration suspended Russia sanctions Trump had just signed into law and pressed Ukraine to stop striking oil refineries.
Czech President Petr Pavel said the deal gave Russia time to breathe and a moral boost, calling it a mistake rather than a betrayal.
Zelenskyy said the deal plays into Russia's hands and accused Trump of using peace talks in Florida as a smokescreen.
Trump announced on 9 October that the United States would buy Russian diesel, asking nothing from Vladimir Putin in return. On 21 October the White House said Trump had "successfully negotiated" the arrangement to supply the global market with "massive amounts of diesel and bring prices down." Czech President Petr Pavel said coordinated US and European sanctions on Russian oil, oligarchs and other industries had been putting Moscow "under strain" until the deal eased that pressure. A bipartisan group of US senators at one point urged Trump to rescind the deal.
Pavel put the effect plainly in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network:
“It will be much harder now.”
Last October Trump imposed significant sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, complaining that talks with Putin "just don't go anywhere." A year later, the New York Times reports that the administration pressed Ukraine to stop striking oil refineries and suspended Russia sanctions Trump had recently signed into law. Politico reports that Trump waived many of the penalties in that legislation, which imposed heavy new sanctions and tariffs, and moved to buy Russian diesel. Trump said "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine" while welcoming an arms control summit with Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that might include talks about Ukraine.
Zelenskyy wrote on social media that the deal "plays into Russia's hands" and accused Trump of using peace talks in Florida as a smokescreen. Ukrainians suspect Washington has pressured Kyiv by throttling satellite connections and intelligence sharing, a claim the Trump administration disputes. Pavel defended Ukraine's position, saying he would be the last to blame Kyiv for the conflict, since it was not Ukraine that attacked Russia.
“I believe that President Zelensky and the whole of Ukraine is a victim of a conflict.”
Pavel also said Trump appears to view the conflict through economic prosperity rather than a struggle between democracy and autocracy.
The New York Times reports that Russia has tried to separate the war from business and diplomacy with Washington, and that the Trump administration held back on economic deals while cutting aid to Ukraine. The White House now argues that such deals will help Russia see the benefits of peace. Five European officials involved in talks about Kyiv expect only modest gains if Democrats win the midterm elections, such as restored satellite services and faster delivery of air defense missiles. Simon Tisdall, writing in The Guardian, compares Trump's stance with Neville Chamberlain's appeasement at Munich in 1938 and calls for concrete penalties. Politico columnist Nahal Toosi writes that Trump's pattern suggests a challenging two years ahead, even if Democrats gain some power in the midterms.
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Trump announced in October that the United States would buy Russian diesel, a move Czech President Petr Pavel says gave Moscow room to ease pressure over the war in Ukraine.
AI text based on reports by Deutsche Welle, The Guardian, The New York Times and other publishers. Published .