President Donald Trump has indicated that the United States could significantly expand trade with Russia after the war in Ukraine ends, even as a tanker carrying Russian diesel heads for America under his contentious agreement with Vladimir Putin.
Speaking Saturday, Trump said Washington could restore commercial ties with Moscow once a peace deal is reached. His comments come amid growing criticism of the decision to reopen the U.S. market to Russian fuel while the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
“Certainly, we’ll do business with Ukraine and with Russia after this war ends, I would think,” Trump said.
He said he hoped to “get back to life where Russia and Ukraine make a deal, and then we’d be able to do business with both.”
The remarks came as the first Russian diesel shipment covered by the new arrangement crossed the Atlantic. The tanker is bound for New York and is expected to arrive on November 7.
The delivery represents a sharp shift in U.S. policy toward Moscow and has provoked anger in Kyiv. Ukrainian officials warn that the agreement could give Putin’s government additional revenue to finance the war.
Trump was also asked about Russian interest in investing in Alaska’s natural gas sector. Although he did not directly respond to that proposal, he emphasized that he saw a future in which American businesses could once again operate in Russia.
The president also promoted his administration’s natural resources agreement with Ukraine, saying the deal could ultimately be valued at as much as $1 trillion.
President Donald Trump has indicated that he wants to broaden U.S. business ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia after the war in Ukraine concludes
The first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States under Trump’s agreement with Moscow is crossing the Atlantic and is scheduled to reach New York on November 7 (file)
Trump argued that the United States should have sought greater financial compensation for the billions of dollars in aid sent to Ukraine during Joe Biden’s presidency.
“I feel foolish because all you had to do is ask them, and they would have paid. Meaning the European Union would have paid,” Trump said.
His comments followed an announcement from the Kremlin one day earlier that the first Russian diesel cargo covered by the Trump-Putin agreement had departed.
“The first oil tanker has sailed off to customers, and regular supplies will continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
Marine intelligence firm Kpler identified New York as the tanker’s destination and estimated that it would arrive on November 7.
If completed as planned, the delivery will mark the first shipment of Russian diesel to the United States since July 2023.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the initial cargo would include about 40,000 tons of diesel, or approximately 300,000 barrels.
Trump has suggested that the agreement could eventually bring millions of additional tons of Russian fuel into the United States as his administration confronts persistently high energy prices ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump has promoted a natural resources agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming it could eventually be worth up to $1 trillion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sharply condemned Trump’s decision to resume Russian diesel imports, describing it as “a weak decision by strong partners”
DISCOVER MORE: Witch Doctor Sentenced for Killing Young Mom; Body Never Found
Russia’s energy infrastructure has come under sustained pressure from Ukrainian drone attacks, with strikes disrupting oil refineries and contributing to fuel shortages
But energy experts have questioned whether the imports will provide any meaningful relief to American consumers.
The inaugural shipment represents just 7% of the roughly 4million barrels of diesel consumed across the US every day.
The deal has drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike over its legality and the prospect of strengthening Russia’s finances during the ongoing conflict.
For Ukraine, the agreement represents another bitter setback in its efforts to isolate Putin economically and pressure Moscow into ending the invasion launched in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stinging rebuke of the arrangement, describing it as ‘a weak decision by strong partners.’
The agreement is particularly contentious because it follows Trump’s decision to approve sweeping sanctions targeting countries that continue to purchase Russian energy.
That package called for tariffs of up to 100 percent against the five largest importers of Russian oil or natural gas, although Trump suspended implementation of the measures before striking his new diesel arrangement with Putin.
The apparent policy U-turn comes as Russia’s own fuel industry faces continuing pressure from Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries.
Those strikes previously contributed to shortages inside Russia, although the disruption has since eased.
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia last week
Last month Trump urged Kyiv to halt the refinery attacks, adding another source of friction to his increasingly strained relationship with Zelensky.
Despite the tensions, diplomatic efforts to end the fighting remain underway.
Zelensky revealed on Friday that he had spoken with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner following their consultations with Putin in St. Petersburg.
The envoys had also held discussions with the Ukrainian leader earlier in the week in Norway.
A potential three-way meeting involving Washington, Moscow and Kyiv could take place next month, although no venue has been announced.
‘We need diplomacy to move forward,’ Zelensky told Washington’s Hudson Institute.
The Ukrainian president warned that his country urgently needs additional American-made Patriot missile interceptors, financial assistance and protection for its power infrastructure as winter approaches.
He also complained that restrictions affecting Starlink and Starshield satellite services were hampering Ukrainian drone operations.