European leaders criticize Trump’s proposal to import Russian diesel
EU foreign ministers and Ukrainian officials rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to buy 300,000 tons of Russian diesel, saying it would not aid Ukraine and would undermine sanctions on Moscow.
European foreign ministers condemned President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would import 300,000 tons of Russian diesel, calling the move contrary to EU policy and harmful to the transatlantic partnership. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said the deal “doesn’t help neither the price of oil products nor the unity of the transatlantic community” and added that it is “not the European way.”
Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee described the proposal as “concerning,” while German Minister of State for Europe Gunther Krichbaum warned that every dollar spent on Russian energy “funds the purchase of weapons used against Kyiv.” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas reminded Washington that “Russia has started this war. We should not forget this.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Warsaw Security Forum that the planned diesel shipments would have little impact on global fuel supplies, which average about 120 million tons per month, and suggested the United States consider a diesel deal with Ukraine instead. He said Kyiv had not been informed of Trump’s claim of an “energy ceasefire” before it was reported in the media.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže reaffirmed the EU’s stance that “pressure on Russia, sanctions, support to Ukraine, Russia’s isolation is the way to peace.” British Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the United Kingdom would not follow the U.S. plan and would increase economic pressure on Moscow. The EU foreign ministers collectively emphasized that heightened pressure on Russia remains the only path toward ending the conflict.