The announcement, made in a social media post, marks a sharp turn from the Russia sanctions law Trump signed last month targeting Moscow's energy economy, which fuels its war against Ukraine.

What the deal covers

Trump said the initial supply of more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel would begin immediately, with further volumes to follow on a schedule he set out in the post:

• •an additional 500,000 tonnes in November
• •1 million tonnes "immediately thereafter"
• •another 3 million tonnes "within a short period of time" after that

The deal was struck in a phone call with Putin that Trump had been expected to use to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, the diesel announcement came out of it.

A reversal of the sanctions course

The agreement comes a month after Trump signed a sweeping sanctions law aimed at clamping down on Russia's energy economy. That law envisions sanctions on Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers, bans all new US investment in Russia and the handling of sovereign debt, and directed Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with exceptions for countries importing less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports that have taken significant steps to reduce imports.

The deal casts doubt on whether the White House will impose sanctions this month under the bipartisan law directing it to target the top importers of Russian oil and gas. The US has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022, when the Biden administration banned them over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Fuel prices and the midterms

Trump tied the deal to the cost of fuel at home. He did not address the sanctions or Russia's war in his post, writing: "Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority."

The national average price for a gallon of diesel in the US stood at $6.23 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on September 22. Gas prices globally have surged as the war in Iran upends the energy sector.

Open questions and reaction

Shortly after the announcement, the Treasury Department said it was immediately issuing a temporary license allowing Russian diesel to be supplied to the global market.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about who was paying for the diesel and when the fuel would become available, and did not clarify whether the November supplies would arrive before Election Day on November 3.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev reposted the Treasury Department's announcement on X and said "Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world".