Stefanchuk voices concern over US permission to trade Russian diesel

Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed serious concern on October 10 over Washington's decision to permit transactions involving Russian diesel fuel.

Stefanchuk set out his position in a Facebook post. His reaction followed a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday, October 9.

After the call, Trump said the two leaders had reached an agreement on Russian diesel supplies. He described the United States as needing the fuel and welcomed the prospect of receiving it.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Russia-related General License 135 on October 9. It authorizes specified transactions concerning the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of Russian-origin diesel.

Stefanchuk's remarks represent the Ukrainian parliamentary speaker's response to that decision. The announcement of the agreement and the issuance of a licence do not themselves establish that fuel shipments have already arrived in the United States.