US lawmakers seek to block Trump-Putin diesel deal
Photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
On Friday, October 16, US Rep. Gregory Meeks introduced a bill to block President Donald Trump's diesel deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and to ban investments in Russia's energy sector.
"This deal won't lower costs for the American people, who are already paying for Trump’s failed war of choice in Iran. It will hand Putin millions of dollars to continue slaughtering Ukrainian civilians with impunity," Gregory Meeks said, commenting on the proposal to block the diesel deal.
He added that at a time when the United States should be increasing pressure on the Kremlin, Trump is drawing closer to Putin and striking deals that benefit himself instead of supporting Ukraine.
"This goes against everything the United States stands for. Congress must act. Every Member of Congress who claims to be outraged by this should join in passing this legislation," he stressed.
The bill includes the following provisions:
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Prohibits the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) from investing in Russia's energy sector;
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Revokes general licenses issued by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and prohibits the issuance of such licenses in the future;
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Requires the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Details
On October 9, Donald Trump held a phone call with Vladimir Putin, after which he announced plans to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel to US and global markets. He claimed the move would supposedly help lower prices.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov effectively contradicted that explanation. According to him, Russian diesel had already begun flowing into global markets, but its overall impact would be limited.
We also reported that a bipartisan group of senators called on Trump several days ago to immediately reverse course on the diesel deal.
Media reports also suggested that the United States had pursued the deal in an apparent attempt to bring Russia back to the negotiating table over ending the war in Ukraine.
Read RBC-Ukraine's analysis of the threat the US-Russia diesel deal poses to Ukraine for more details.
