Highlights:
- Trump says deal with Russia will help US farmers and ranchers
- US pump price for diesel up over 60% during war in Iran
- US senators from both parties urge Trump to 'reverse course'
President Donald Trump on Monday defended a diesel oil deal he made with Russia as lawmakers from both parties complained that the agreement appears to violate US law barring imports of Russian energy until Moscow ends its aggression against Ukraine.
Trump has said the deal to lift sanctions on Russian oil exports would help bring down high fuel prices. However, some analysts doubted that the amount of diesel Trump has said Russia would provide over the next three months would do much to bring down prices, since it is equal to about 12 hours of global consumption of the fuel.
On Friday, Trump said Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets, and his administration temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel designed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine. On Monday, Trump said the deal would help American farmers and ranchers.
The price of diesel has surged more than 60% since Trump launched a war against Iran seven months ago, and high prices have jeopardised Republican chances of maintaining thin majorities in the US Congress in the 3 November midterm elections.
On Sunday, a group of Republican and Democratic US senators called on Trump to 'reverse course' on the diesel supply deal with Russia. They said his deal may violate a 2022 law designed to support Ukraine in its bid to repel Russian invaders.
'We should be tightening sanctions further, not undercutting them by allowing the import of Russian diesel and risking erasing our leverage, damaging our credibility with allies, and emboldening our adversaries,' said Republican Senator Jerry Moran in a social media post.
Trump has blamed Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries as a leading factor behind higher diesel prices.
'I made the right choice for the American People — ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST! President DONALD J. TRUMP,' Trump said in a social media post.
On Monday, Trump rejected criticism of the deal from members of his own party in comments to reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Ohio.
'Well, I think these are Republicans that can't really be serious,' he said. 'We can do a restriction on oil, but the rest of the world would be greatly, greatly affected if we do that.'
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy bickered over the weekend about Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Trump said Ukraine needed a new president, and Zelenskiy promised to hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.
Trump on Sunday declared that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy infrastructure. Whether such a deal would hold was unclear.
'Well, they agreed,' Trump told reporters. 'They agreed because I said they agreed. ... That war has to be over with.'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said contacts were under way regarding a possible energy ceasefire, as announced by Trump. He declined to comment on whether the ceasefire would apply only to oil refineries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv favoured a ceasefire, but both sides had to observe it. He said it was 'increasingly clear' that Russia was unwilling to accept it, as Moscow struck six Ukrainian energy facilities on Monday.
Zelenskiy told Fox News' 'America's Newsroom' programme on Monday that Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries were not the leading cause of rising fuel prices.
'Everybody understands that the prices on diesel — it doesn't depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia. Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking... the Strait of Hormuz,' he said.