Trump and Russia: Senators call for a change of course in the diesel plan

Ua bipartisan group of six United States senators today called on President Donald Trump’s administration to “immediately change course” regarding Russia’s diesel purchase plan.

According to AP news agency, four Republican senators and two Democratic senators signed a statement today released in protest against the agreement announced on Friday, stating that Trump's administration did not consult Congress, nor did it provide any explanation to justify its decision, as required by law.

“ The United States should not provide Putin with financial support as long as Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The administration has to change course immediately”, wrote the senators, quoted by AP.

On Friday, Donald Trump surprised the legislators by announcing on their social media that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation, so that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and world markets, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and a million tons “right after”.

The Republican senators who signed the statement are Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and John Curtis of Utah. The Democratic senators are Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut.

Republican senator Thom Tillis, in an interview broadcast today on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, considered that there were legitimate grounds to state that the President is not complying with the law if the government advances the diesel purchase plan.

“ We were very clear in saying that Russia is the aggressor. It is Russia that can end this war by withdrawing from the territory it occupied,” Tillis said.

Trump's announcement appeared a few weeks after Congress passed legislation instructing the Head of State to impose substantial customs duties on major Russian oil or natural gas importers, with one exception for countries importing less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and taking significant steps to reduce these imports.

The Congress initiative aimed to reduce the flow of money that Russia receives from oil and gas sales to finance its war against Ukraine.

The legislators also stressed that Congress explicitly banned energy imports from Russia in 2022 to prevent the United States from financing the war.

“The Congress was clear: the United States should not import oil from Russia until it puts an end to its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO allies,” the six legislators wrote in their statement.

Asked whether the President’s action would constitute a violation of US legislation, Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming considered that Trump is focused on reducing the cost of energy and that he “must make difficult decisions”

Barrosso, who spoke in CBS’ “Face the Nation” program, also encouraged Trump to enforce the sanctions law that Congress passed last month.

“ This is just another pressure point that the President can use against Putin in an effort to achieve a long-term solution in that region of the world,” he said.

The agreement announced Friday contemplates larger deliveries scheduled for the coming months, which would serve to lower the price of diesel, one of the criticisms of the Americans to Trump a few weeks from the mid-term elections of November.

Trump, who opened a war conflict with Iran in the spring, which reduced oil traffic through Ormuz's narrow strategy, blamed Ukraine for the rise in diesel fuel due to attacks on Russian refineries.

The leader of the United States even suggested that the Ukrainians change President so that it is possible to end the war with Russia, stating that Volodymyr Zelensky “does not want to reach an agreement” with Moscow.