AI Brief
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the diesel supply accord with the US is operational and contributing to lower global prices.
- The US temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel, allowing immediate exports to address high fuel prices before the US midterm elections.
- Lavrov criticised Ukraine for continuing strikes on Russian energy targets, which Russian media report have caused fuel shortages in several regions.
RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the accord under which Russia is to supply diesel to the US and world markets is already working and lowering prices, writing in a piece published on Tuesday in Moscow daily Kommersant.
Lavrov said Russia was distinct from the West in not using its economy to score political points against countries seen as adversaries or competitors.
"Since 2022, we have supplied Europe with energy resources worth US$320 billion," Lavrov wrote in Kommersant.
"An important contribution to energy security was the agreement between the Russian and US leaders to suspend restrictions on the export of Russian diesel. We have already started implementing it, which immediately brought prices down."
US President Donald Trump announced on October 9 the surprise deal under which Russia agreed to immediately export 300,000 metric tons, or 2.25 million barrels, to the US and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter" to help lower fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
His administration temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel that were designed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine.
Lavrov, in his comments to Kommersant, said Russia was working to stabilise world energy markets "ensuring global energy security, balanced and sustainable development of countries and macro-regions".
He did not give any data on diesel prices. US futures prices HOc1 have fallen about 11% since the deal was announced, but at the pump in the US, diesel prices were at a record high last week when Americans voted, according to price tracker GasBuddy.
Lavrov said Ukraine was ignoring Trump's calls to stop strikes on Russian energy targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week said Kyiv's forces were pursuing their strikes.
Russian media said fuel shortages had returned to at least half a dozen Russian regions after Ukrainian strikes on at least eight major oil refineries in the past two weeks.
