Fourth Russian Tanker Carrying Diesel to Sail for the US, Moscow Hopes for Wednesday Departure
A fourth Russian tanker carrying diesel fuel will set off for the United States on Wednesday, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak has said. The shipment is being sent under a deal reached between Moscow and Washington at the start of this month.
Speaking on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow, Novak said three ships had already been sent under the deal. They expected the fourth ship to leave on the 28th, he said.
US president Donald Trump disclosed the deal earlier this month after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, a further 500,000 tonnes in November and another one million tonnes later.
President Putin described the deal as beneficial for the world economy. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, strongly criticised it and warned that the exports would help fund Russia's war.
Novak criticised US politicians for opposing the diesel deal with the United States. In his words, the position of the Democrats was surprising: they did not speak or work in the interests of US residents.
On Europe, Novak said Russia was ready to resume gas supplies if Europe wanted them, adding that Russia had always been a reliable supplier. If Europe did not buy the gas, there were other markets for it, he said, noting that in recent years Russia had built infrastructure to increase supplies to countries where consumption and economies were growing fast — so this was Europe's problem, not Russia's.
Turning to China, Novak said liquefied natural gas was more expensive for that country than Russian pipeline gas, and that shortages and higher prices meant consumers were paying more. In the long term, however, he believed the Nord Stream pipelines would remain strategically in demand in Europe.
