United States President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Russia will supply diesel to his country and other markets after a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladímir Putin. The Kremlin confirmed the agreement that same day.
According to CNN Chile, citing the EFE news agency, Trump said on his Truth Social network that Moscow will immediately ship more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, another 500,000 in November and one million immediately afterward. He added a subsequent delivery of 3,000,000 tonnes, depending on the condition of Russian refineries. In total, the volume would reach 4.8 million tonnes, according to Diario Financiero's calculation.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Nóvak provided a somewhat different timetable: 300,000 tonnes in October, 500,000 in November and up to one million in December, with the option of reaching three million per month. Nóvak also said that Russia's domestic market will remain supplied and that Moscow will lift the restrictions it had imposed on exports of this fuel.
Putin said in a Kremlin statement that Russia is willing to sell oil and petroleum products to the United States and the rest of the world. "I am sure this will have a positive impact on the entire world economy," he said.
Trump linked the announcement to the war in Iran. He said that, combined with what he described as total control of the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime passage through which much of the Persian Gulf's crude oil flows, the agreement will quickly bring down diesel prices. He named American farmers, ranchers and truck drivers as the main beneficiaries.
The backdrop is electoral. The United States midterm congressional elections take place on November 3, in less than four weeks, and polls give Democrats a lead of around seven points. Even traditionally Republican areas show dissatisfaction with the cost of gasoline and living expenses.
The promise faces a concrete constraint. Russia has suffered a severe fuel shortage in recent months, with long lines at service stations, following Ukrainian attacks on its refineries. The larger shipments depend on repairs to those plants.
The call also touched on the war in Ukraine. A month ago, Trump had asked Moscow to halt its military operations, but the subsequent escalation froze peace negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelenski criticized Washington this week after a Russian attack on a residential building left 22 dead, saying that economic projects with Russia cannot be negotiated while discussing a diplomatic stalemate.
For Chile, which imports most of the diesel it consumes, the news matters because of its effect on international benchmark prices. An increase in supply on the global market could put downward pressure on those prices, although the sources provide no estimates of the impact on Latin America. The concrete development is the first announced shipment: 300,000 tonnes in October, according to Nóvak.
