Initial shipment of Russian diesel heads to the US after Trump-Putin deal
A Malta-flagged tanker, the Agioi Fanendes, was loaded with 40,000 metric tonnes of ultra-low sulphur diesel at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk on October 22 and is expected to arrive in the US on November 7. The cargo follows an agreement between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump under which Russia lifted its self-imposed ban on diesel exports and resumed supplying global markets, including the US. Trump, who has moved to bring down diesel prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, announced on October 9 that Russia would export 300,000 metric tonnes immediately, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November.
Why it matters: The shipment marks a shift in Russia's diesel trade toward the US and bears directly on energy security and on the coherence of the Western sanctions regime imposed after the war in Ukraine.