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France 24
France 24
Politics
FRANCE 24

Trump strikes diesel deal with Putin, reversing years of pressure on Russia over Ukraine war

A combination of pictures created on August 11, 2026 showing US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The US president said he struck the deal with Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. © Jim Watson, Kristina Solovyova, AFP

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia had agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to US and global markets in an effort to cut fuel prices before November's midterm elections. The move marks a stunning change of policy after the US and its allies hit Russia with waves of sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said that he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.

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