Washington/Berlin. Even after US President Donald Trump reached an agreement with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin on rapid diesel deliveries, Germany does not want any oil or gasoline from Russia. “The federal government is sticking to the sanctions decisions against Russia and is working with its European partners on further sanctions,” emphasized Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) spokesman in response to the agreement. The Fuels and Energy trade association does not expect the USA-Russia deal to have any major impact on prices at German gas stations.
After a conversation with Putin on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced that he had agreed with the Russian president that more than 300,000 tons of diesel would be made available “immediately” for the USA and the world market. According to Trump, another half a million tons of diesel will be released during November and a million tons “immediately thereafter.” “Depending on the condition of its diesel refineries,” Russia also wants to deliver three million tons of diesel within a short period of time.
The EU criticized the agreement. "Russian attacks have killed more than 80 Ukrainian civilians in two days. At the same time, Russia has increased its hybrid attacks against Europe - both against EU member states and against NATO allies," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Suspending sanctions against Russian diesel deliveries would provide Moscow with additional revenue to finance its war.
Moscow responded with harsh criticism of Kallas. “The fish starts to stink at the head,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state agency Tass. After the agreement between Trump and Putin, the Russian government partially lifted the ban on exports of diesel fuel. The decision, which came into force immediately, makes it possible to initially bring 500,000 tons onto the world market, the state agency Tass reported, citing a statement from the government in Moscow.
Russia banned the export of diesel in order to be able to serve its own market. Ukrainian drone attacks against refineries in various cities in Russia temporarily caused a bottleneck in the domestic market.
Trump called lower diesel prices “especially for our great farmers, ranchers and truck drivers” his top priority. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said: “I want to thank President Putin.” Trump is currently under heavy pressure due to increased fuel prices ahead of the important midterm elections in less than a month.
Putin confirmed the deal. “When discussing the situation on the global energy market, the Russian side confirmed its readiness to supply oil and oil products to the American and world markets,” he said in a written statement. This will have a positive impact on the “entire global economy”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted indignantly. The agreement was “not fair and not honest,” he told the US news portal “Axios”. He was particularly annoyed that Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were negotiating with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami about a possible end to the war parallel to the agreement with Putin. There was no mention of the planned diesel agreement. Zelensky wrote on Telegram: “Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in the war (against Ukraine) that must be ended, not prolonged.” Moscow will thank you with more “terror and meanness.”
In Berlin, the federal government emphasized sticking to its course towards Russia. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said: “Ukraine’s support in its defensive battle remains unbroken.” A spokeswoman for Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) emphasized: “Germany fully supports the sanctions packages.” Russian oil and crude oil products have been sanctioned by the EU since 2023. Since then, Germany has not purchased any oil or oil products from Russia. “We are independent of Russian oil.” Security of supply is guaranteed.
The Fuels and Energy trade association does not expect the diesel deal to have any major impact on local drivers. “There has been a ban on the import of Russian diesel into the EU since February 5, 2023. It remains that way,” said a spokesman. “In view of the volumes agreed according to the reports, we do not expect any significant impact on the global market and prices.” Data from the fuel price portal Tankerkönig also showed no major fluctuations until Saturday afternoon. Economist Samina Sultan from the Institute of German Economics (IW) Cologne told the German Press Agency: “The world market price will not change significantly.”
Sharp criticism of Trump came from the Greens. “First start a war against Iran without a discernible plan, which drives up energy prices worldwide - and then make a deal with the warmonger Putin, of all people, to cushion the consequences before the midterms - it couldn't be more unscrupulous,” said Green Party leader Franziska Brantner to the German Press Agency. She called for rapid independence from fossil fuels.
There was also criticism of the deal from the US Democrats. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, condemned Trump's change of course: "Weeks after signing a law imposing sanctions on buyers of Russian energy, Trump is announcing that the United States will buy it." It was only in September that Trump signed a law passed by Parliament that gave him broad powers to impose new sanctions against Russia - including to further curb Russian oil and gas exports. Russia is financing the war against Ukraine with its oil.
In recent weeks, Trump has blamed Ukrainian President Zelensky for a global diesel shortage and called on him to stop attacks on Russian refineries. Zelenskyj has now renewed Ukrainian willingness to do so if Russia stops attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in return. A weakening of the Russia sanctions, on the other hand, would be a sign of “obvious weakness”. Russia will take the USA even less seriously. As data from the US Energy Agency (EIA) on consumption in the USA shows, 300,000 tonnes mathematically cover consumption for a good 14 hours.
