Moscow set to deliver 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, with an additional 1.5 million tonnes following, as costs surge amid the Iran conflict.
President Donald Trump stated that Russia has consented to provide 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to global markets, following high-level negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” Trump said in a statement released via his Truth Social platform.
Expanding on the agreement, the President noted that an additional 3 million tonnes of fuel would be delivered within a compressed timeframe. He reiterated that 500,000 tonnes were scheduled to arrive in November.
Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy for President Putin, publicly endorsed the arrangement shortly after the announcement, highlighting energy collaboration on the social media platform X.
“Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world,” Dmitriev wrote on X.
Petrol price pressures
The accord arrives despite ongoing Ukrainian air strikes, which the Ministry of Defence claims have taken more than half of the country’s oil refining capacity offline.
The latest declaration follows a G7 agreement one week prior to release 100 million barrels of oil, reached under pressure from the White House.
This development also coincides with diesel costs nearing record levels, given the fuel’s critical role in agriculture, home heating, and freight logistics, just ahead of the November 3 congressional elections that will decide control of Congress.
Although diesel prices had been elevated recently, they have begun to recede. The American Automobile Association (AAA), which monitors daily fuel costs, reports an average price of $6.27 per gallon ($1.66 per litre). That reflects a $0.10 decrease from the previous week but remains $5.94 higher than the same period one month ago.
Diesel prices, a significant factor in inflation, have risen 70 percent since the onset of the US and Israel’s military conflict with Iran this year. This increase persists despite two prominent recent moves by Trump aimed at augmenting supply: pressuring allies to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel, typically reserved for agricultural machinery.
The conflicts in both Iran and Ukraine have precipitated an unprecedented global fuel supply shortfall.