Washington’s About-Face: Russian Diesel Tanker Heads to US Shores
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the response from the United States and its allies was swift and brutal. The West launched an economic onslaught against the Kremlin, banning Russian imports, cutting Russia off from its payment systems and imposing a price cap on Russian oil sales to deplete the Kremlin’s coffers.
Fast-forward to 2026, and the Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes is carrying 300,000 barrels of Russian diesel toward the United States, offering a striking image of Washington’s about-face on Moscow. US President Donald Trump’s willingness to provide sanctions relief to Russia and cut business deals with President Vladimir Putin while war rages in Ukraine is chipping away at Russia’s status as an international pariah.
Sanctions Relief and Business Deals: A New Era for US-Russia Relations?
In early 2022, “there was a very strong notion that we didn’t want a drop of Russian oil on US shores, not just from the US government but also industry,” said Ben Harris, who was closely involved in efforts to sanction Russia at the time as assistant Treasury Secretary. Trump’s actions signal that “he really sees no value in sanctioning Russia and he doesn’t see sanctions as a way to end the (Ukraine) war,” added Harris, now vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution.
“It’s really unclear if he even sees Russian aggression as a problem,” he told CNN, describing Trump’s recent moves as “incredibly disheartening.” The diesel deal might be the “first inkling” of this new approach, “which made people quite nervous because of what it might portend in the near future,” said Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Diesel Prices Soar: Trump’s Purchase Won’t Dent Prices
Diesel prices have surged above $6 a gallon for the first time ever, from $3.76 a gallon nationally before the Iran war. Average gasoline prices are above $4 a gallon, up from $3 a year ago, according to AAA data. Trump’s diesel purchases will do nothing to dent prices, however. The barrels on the Agioi Fanendes amount to roughly 10% of what the US transportation sector alone consumes each day, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Pariah No More? Russia-US Business Deals on the Horizon
These potential business deals — which reportedly range from Russia-US data center projects to joint liquified natural gas ventures in the Arctic — come despite the absence of a ceasefire in Ukraine and with no apparent conditions that would force an end to Russian aggression. A deal on Russian oil major Lukoil’s international assets, led by a consortium that includes American investors, is expected within weeks, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
It’s unclear how or whether the Democrat-controlled Congress could affect any current or future deals with Russia. But Trump still has veto power, which he could use to assert his authority on foreign policy.
Original Article: Washington made Moscow a pariah. Now a tanker of Russian diesel — Cnn