'Immediately reverse course': US senators challenge Trump's Russian diesel deal
Photo: Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
A bipartisan group of US senators has urged President Donald Trump to “immediately reverse course” over his diesel deal with Russia, according to Politico.
“President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the US runs directly counter to that law,” the statement said, referring to the 2022 law banning imports of Russian energy products.
The senators noted that the Trump administration had neither consulted Congress nor provided any explanation before suspending energy sanctions against Russia.
Notably, four Republicans co-authored the statement: Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis. Jeanne Shaheen, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also co-authored it.
“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course,” the senators stressed.
US-Russia deal
Last week, following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said the two had reached an agreement on supplying Russian diesel fuel to the United States.
The US president is seeking to address rising fuel prices in the country.
Trump has since repeatedly thanked Putin for the deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized the US administration’s decision, calling it weak. He also noted that the US-Russia deal was reached while Ukraine’s negotiating team was in the United States participating in peace talks.
