"Trump’s plan to buy diesel from Russia is sparking a political backlash — and further ruptures in the transatlantic alliance — for a deal the oil industry says may never happen."
"President Donald Trump’s plan to buy Russian diesel is burning through political capital at home and abroad — despite industry skepticism that it will even materialize.
Since announcing Friday that Russia would supply millions of barrels of diesel to the United States and the world, Trump has shifted his focus to domestic supplies — announcing plans Wednesday to sell Alaskan natural gas to Taiwan, and even revisiting the idea of capping U.S. diesel exports that infuriated the oil industry last month. But Republican lawmakers and European allies are still focused on his Russia gambit.
“The deal you struck with President [Vladimir] Putin on October 9th will not achieve just ends, nor will it benefit Americans,” a bipartisan group of senators — including Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) — wrote in a letter Tuesday. “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded.”
European leaders from Ireland to Latvia warned that Trump’s announcement would undermine Ukraine’s campaign against Russia. “This deal doesn’t help neither the price of oil products nor the unity of the tr ansatlantic community,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys."
