Trump’s diesel deal with Putin goes beyond some tonnes of fuel

Trump’s diesel deal with Putin promises uncertain relief for American consumers while offering Moscow money and diplomatic legitimacy. For Ukraine, the main questions is: has its most powerful partner definitively taken the wrong side? Economist Oleksandra Moskalenko writes that Zelenskyy’s sense of betrayal reflects a strategic fear: that Washington is easing pressure on the Kremlin without securing protection for the people Russia continues to attack.

On September 18, US president Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham sanctions law, colloquially referred to as the 'Sanctions from Hell' bill. It raised the question whether Washington would use its powers consistently enough to constrain Russia’s war against Ukraine. The recent diesel agreement between the United States and Russia indicates the opposite.

On October 9, Donald Trump announced an agreement with Vladimir Putin to release Russian diesel onto US and global markets. A week later, he waived central provisions of the sanctions law he had signed on September 18.

Read the full article by Oleksandra Moskalenko at Platform RAAM.

Photo“President of Ukraine met with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham” by President of Ukraine, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Cropped.