Agreement between US and Russia on supply of diesel fuel is "terrible disappointment", - Orpo

Finnish Prime Minister on the Trump-Putin deal: "A terrible disappointment"

The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, has criticised the agreement between the US and Russia on the supply of Russian diesel fuel. He described it as a "terrible disappointment", but expressed doubt that it would have a significant impact on the US market or the global economy.

According to Censor.NET, Orpo stated this in an interview with the Finnish broadcaster Yle.

According to the Finnish Prime Minister, the volume of diesel fuel that the parties have agreed to supply accounts for only a small proportion of US consumption. Furthermore, it is not yet known whether the planned deliveries will go ahead.

"I don’t think it will ultimately make much difference to the United States or the global market," said Orpo.

At the same time, the Finnish Prime Minister emphasised his negative view of this agreement, describing it as a "terrible disappointment".

What led up to it?

On 9 October, US President Donald Trump stated that he had spoken with the Russian dictator Putin, with whom he had agreed on the supply of diesel fuel from Russia to markets in the US and around the world.
According to him, Russia will "immediately" supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets, a further 500,000 tonnes during November, and another million tonnes "immediately afterwards".
The US Department of the Treasury announced that, on Trump’s instructions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is immediately issuing a temporary general licence to permit the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s authorisation to sell petroleum products as an "investment in war" and called on the US to hold firm talks with Moscow and impose sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act.
It should be recalled that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, the Russian authorities have extended the ban on diesel fuel exports on several occasions, at least until the end of October.
The US President has publicly stated that Ukraine must cease its attacks on Russia’s energy sector, as this, he claims, is leading to a shortage of diesel fuel. According to him, the shortage has arisen precisely because of the war in Ukraine, and not because of the US war against Iran.
Similar statements have been made by other American politicians. For instance, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector are leading to an energy crisis. He cited the war with Iran as the second cause of the crisis.