Russia will send the United States its first tanker with 40,000 tons of diesel on Thursday after the Trump-Putin deal

Moscow — Russia will send its first tanker loaded with 40,000 tons of diesel to the United States this Thursday, October 22, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday, as part of the energy agreement reached on October 9 between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, according to EFE.

Novak said the ship will sail from St. Petersburg, Russia's main Baltic port, and assured that "this will undoubtedly be followed by other shipments." He added that the signing of the supply agreement between the two countries "is in its final stage" and that Moscow will cover U.S. demand "to the extent of our capabilities," depending on the capacity of its refineries.

This Wednesday, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Putin on Trump's behalf during the meeting in St. Petersburg for the decision to send diesel to his country, the TASS agency reported. The meeting comes amid the rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, which this same week brought the release of the American Stephen Hubbard.

To make the operations viable, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary license authorizing operations linked to Russian diesel through April 2027. The scheme planned by the Russian government calls for making 300,000 tons available in October, 500,000 in November and one million in December, with the later goal of raising deliveries to three million tons per month.

The deal drew objections from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the sales will give resources to Moscow, a position shared by French President Emmanuel Macron. Energy experts consider it unlikely the agreement will have a notable impact on reducing prices: according to data from the Energy Information Administration cited by CNN en Español, the announced volumes are equivalent to about a day and a half of U.S. consumption.

Persistent Ukrainian attacks in recent months against Russian refineries hurt gasoline and diesel production and caused a fuel shortage in Russia, reflected in higher prices and long lines at gas stations, EFE reported.

Photo: ahoratodos.com

Source: EFE via ahoratodos.com