EU Summit to Formally Regret Trump's Russian Diesel Deal with Putin

The final communiqué of the European Council summit scheduled for October 15–16 is expected to include a paragraph expressing the European Union's regret over the deal reached by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin allowing Russian diesel fuel to be exported as an exemption to Western sanctions. A senior EU official disclosed the planned wording to reporters on condition of anonymity.

"We Consider It Regrettable"

"Regarding the announced deal — we consider it regrettable, so we regret this deal. I think this view is shared by the leaders," the official said. The EU is poised to formalise this position in the summit conclusions, marking one of the most direct public disagreements between Brussels and Washington over Ukraine-related sanctions since Trump returned to office.

Contradicts Europe's Energy Strategy

The official stressed that Trump's decision contradicts the strategy pursued over the past four and a half years: pressuring Russia while decoupling European energy from Russian fossil fuel sources. "With the full implementation of the REPowerEU strategy, the idea is to fully sever this link. We will continue this strategy because it is also a way to stop Russian funding of the war machine and pressure Russia to end the war," the official said. EU member states paid Russia approximately 197 billion euros — or around 209 billion dollars — for fossil fuels between March 2022 and July 2026.

Background

On October 9, Trump announced that he had spoken with Putin and reached an agreement allowing Russian diesel on US and world markets. The EU has repeatedly emphasised it will not follow suit and will maintain its own sanctions regime. More politics news.