Waltz on Trump Ukraine diesel deal
The diesel piece is the part that gets buried. Waltz says Trump, right after that call with Putin, told Ukraine to back off hitting Russian refineries, and that it's hooked to a deal to bring the fuel supply back. Russia is supposed to ship more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and to buyers around the world over the next few months. Oil is already moving, refining capacity is where things are stuck. Diesel is what tractors and trucks and planes run on. Trump wants the attacks to stop on refineries, on grain, on fertilizer, while he keeps working to end the war. Lucas on the byline
Transcript (en)
Thank you for being here in New York City. President Trump said he just concluded a conversation with Vladimir Putin this breaking just now. It was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel to America and the global marketplace. Is this a good idea? A deal with Russia? Well, first, Sandra, we have to make a distinction. There's a distinction between what's happening in the Straits of Armuts, which is oil coming out that's now coming out from our Gulf partners, almost a pre-war level, not coming from Iran due to our blockade, different than refining capacity. We've seen Europe close down all of their refineries over the years. Heck, even California just shut down two refineries. And of course, the Ukrainians have been attacking Russian refineries as part of the war. The president has been clear in asking the Ukrainians to stop and asking, you know, from the perspective of the global economy suffering, it's diesel that powers our tractors, our trucks, our airplanes around the world. And this is an effort, at least for the next few months, to get more diesel out on the world market. He is still absolutely determined to drive this war to an end. So, look, for those that will, I think, kind of throw their hands up, The president, his envoys, all of us have been talking to Ukrainians and Russians about stopping attacks on grain, on fertilizer, on diesel, and others that are powering the world economy as part of this war.
