Political scientist Dmitry Rodionov, in a column for VFokuse Mail, on how world media are reacting to the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel, and why it has split the West.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, announced a deal under which Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and world markets, another 500,000 tons during November, and then immediately another one million tons. Predictably, this news provoked a sharply negative reaction among American Democrats, Europeans, and the Kyiv regime.
World media are already reacting vigorously to what has happened.
The British Financial Times surveys the situation with surprising restraint, noting that the price of diesel fuel is a vital input for industry and agriculture.
Against the backdrop of a significant rise in world diesel prices — a resource of key importance for the agricultural and industrial sectors — an agreement was reached between Washington and Moscow. The price increase is caused by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which lead to damage to infrastructure facilities and a shortage of supplies at the global level, the newspaper writes.
The British Telegraph stresses that Trump is under pressure because of the rising cost of living ahead of the midterm elections in November. The outlet also notes that the U.S. president’s statement provoked a furious reaction from Volodymyr Zelensky, who called the deal “a gift to Putin.”
“Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a conflict that needs to be ended, not prolonged,” The Telegraph quotes the head of the Kyiv regime as saying.
The outlet also quotes a representative of its own country’s government, who stated: “The United Kingdom’s position is absolutely clear. We will continue to work closely with international partners to ensure Ukraine receives the necessary military and financial support. We will also continue to exert pressure on Russia through the toughest sanctions regime the United Kingdom has ever imposed.”
Zelensky is furious after Trump announced a deal to buy diesel from Putin — runs the headline in The Independent. The outlet also quotes extensively the reaction of the expired Ukrainian president, ignoring the positive consequences of the deal for the whole world, including Britain.
The Guardian reacts in the same vein, noting that, in Trump’s view, the deal is necessary to lower fuel prices in the United States, but this step may provoke a new crisis in relations with Ukraine and NATO allies.
The agreement with Russia exposes Trump to criticism from European allies and pro-Ukrainian politicians in the United States, who accuse the American president of now helping to finance Moscow, the BBC asserts, calling the deal “shocking.” At the same time, in the editorial board’s view, the impact of the deal with Russia on fuel prices also remains unclear. The radio station cites the opinion of experts who believe that the figures mentioned by Trump were “relatively small” and that the deal will not have a substantial impact on gasoline prices in the United States.
The French Le Figaro calls Trump’s decision “terrible,” also citing Zelensky’s opinion as the sole “objective” assessment.
Another electoral triumph for Donald Trump, but at what cost? — writes Libération.
In the final stage of the midterm elections, which began extremely unsuccessfully for his party in early November, the billionaire president may have just resolved a delicate issue: the rise in fuel prices, the panic buying of which is fueling the unpopularity of the presidential camp, the outlet notes, stressing that in recent weeks Donald Trump “has repeatedly condemned Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries but has refrained from commenting on the resumption of Russian strikes on Ukraine.”
Recent Russian explosions have caused “significant damage” to Ukraine’s energy system. Therefore America’s statement is hard to accept, writes Le Parisien.
By deciding to import diesel fuel from Russia, the United States has essentially made a 180-degree turn. Instead of supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia, they will begin financing the Russian army, the Polish Rzeczpospolita asserts. Thanks to Trump, Russia may tip the scales in favor of victory, the outlet believes.
Experts have criticized the agreement, Handelsblatt notes. “Trump thinks he has made an excellent deal with Putin,” the outlet quotes Janis Kluge, head of the research group on Eastern Europe and Eurasia at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. According to him, the volumes are “quite small.” “75,000 barrels a day supplied to the world market are unlikely to substantially affect the situation at American gas stations before the midterm elections.” As a “political assessment,” the outlet also presents Zelensky’s point of view.
The volume of the deal is small compared with U.S. demand, but it brings the United States closer to Russia and runs counter to Ukraine’s attempts to bomb Russian oil refineries, the American Washington Post writes.
The impact on the Ukrainian-Russian conflict may be more significant. In recent months, Ukrainian drones have increasingly disrupted fuel supplies to the country and have become one of the methods of pressure on the Kremlin.
“It turns out that Trump is ready to undermine his own sanctions for the sake of a deal that, on the scale of the global energy market, is practically negligible. This reveals the degree of his desperation better than any words,” says independent risk-assessment consultant Brett Erickson.
“Trump is making a deal with the devil, trying to improve his shaken political position because of the shockingly high diesel prices caused by his own reckless and illegal war in the Middle East,” the outlet quotes Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer as saying.
Trump’s agreement with Putin on diesel fuel has caused discontent in Ukraine, as experts doubt its impact on prices, CNN reports.
The last few months have been hard for Ukraine, as Russia, taking advantage of a critical shortage of anti-aircraft missiles in Kyiv, has carried out almost continuous air strikes, the channel asserts.
The experts it quotes also doubt that the figures announced by Trump will change the situation, and that Russia will actually supply such a quantity of fuel. A former senior State Department official said it does not matter whether Putin can actually deliver the diesel fuel, because “he has now achieved the result he wanted,” while Trump believes he has received a pre-election boost.
The unexpected announcement is another attempt by the Trump administration to take control of record diesel prices caused by the ongoing war against Iran, as well as Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, ahead of the midterm elections, Politico writes. According to lawmakers, “this may also indicate a weakening of Trump’s support for Ukraine.”
The agreement undoes years of U.S. efforts to stop supplies of Russian energy resources to world markets after the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, USA Today notes. The newspaper also quotes Zelensky’s reaction and experts who doubt that the deal will affect fuel prices.
The groans and curses of America’s Democratic representatives and European “experts” are full of despair. None of them could have imagined such an outcome. All the European outlets that are kept on the balance sheet of the Euro-elites trumpet in unison about Trump’s unpredictability, which demonstrates their weakness and the unexpected blow to anti-Russian positions.
Trump concluded the deal with the Russian Federation after Zelensky ignored his requests to stop attacks on Russian refineries, Axios writes, citing an American official. According to him, Trump did not regard these attacks as equivalent to Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.
“Zelensky is misjudging the situation. By continuing to strike oil refineries, he is undermining the good relations he has managed to win with Trump over the past six months,” the source said. “Attacks on oil refineries cause damage to Russia, but they also cause damage to the United States,” he added.
To date, this is perhaps the most objective assessment. It is obvious that Kyiv continues to misjudge the situation — the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Miami, on Zelensky’s instructions, demonstratively left the United States after news of the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel.
