The US president is \u201cdeflecting\u201d and unfairly blaming Kiev\u2019s strikes on Russian refineries for rising global diesel prices, the Ukrainian leader has claimed<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump made \u201ctotally false\u201d statements when he blamed rising US diesel prices on Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, Vladimir Zelensky has claimed, accusing the American leader of \u201cdeflecting the focus away from Iran.\u201d
\nZelensky\u2019s remarks came amid a growing spat with Trump, who has repeatedly accused Kiev of exacerbating the global energy crisis with continued attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
\nRussia has historically been the world\u2019s second-largest exporter of diesel fuel, behind only the United States, accounting for roughly 10% of global exports. Disruptions to Russian supplies have tightened the global market, driving up prices even in countries that do not directly import Russian fuel, including the US.
\n\u201cThe volume of diesel exports is so negligible from Russia that it has zero impact on prices in the US. That is totally false information,\u201d the Ukrainian leader claimed during an appearance on Steven Bartlett\u2019s The Diary of a CEO podcast on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Trump has made a deal with Moscow, but Zelensky has other ideas<\/p>\n
If Trump cares so much about US energy prices, then \u201cwhy do American companies export energy?\u201d Zelensky wondered rhetorically. \u201cWell, because how can the president of the United States ban private sector exports?… It sells and money comes in.\u201d
\nZelensky accused Trump of unfairly \u201cdeflecting the focus away from Iran\u201d and lamented that \u201ceverything gets shifted onto us and I\u2019m made the target as the leader of our country.\u201d
\nAccording to Zelensky, \u201cthe root of the problem\u201d lies in the Strait of Hormuz, where crude exports and other maritime traffic have dwindled to a trickle following the start of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in February.
\nEarlier this month, Zelensky similarly hit out at what he described as a \u201cweak decision\u201d by the Trump administration after Washington temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports to ease the global fuel crisis.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Zelensky slams \u2018weak\u2019 Trump decision<\/p>\n
Moscow agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to American and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November, another million tons shortly thereafter, and potentially another 3 million tons, depending on refinery capacity.
\nWashington struck the deal with Moscow after Zelensky had repeatedly ignored Trump\u2019s requests to stop strikes on Russian refineries. \u201cWe said, you can do whatever you want to Russia, don\u2019t hit the refineries, because that\u2019s a world problem that\u2019s caused,\u201d the US president recounted earlier this month.
\n\u201cAnd what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel,\u201d Trump lamented, accusing Zelensky of wanting to \u201cmake problems for the world.\u201d
\nTrump also said he found it more difficult to deal with Zelensky than with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting that Ukraine should get a new leader who would not obstruct Washington\u2019s mediation efforts.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Zelensky shouldn\u2019t speak for Ukraine \u2013 Trump<\/p>\n
Rising fuel prices have become an increasingly pressing domestic issue for Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. US diesel prices surged to record highs above $6.50 per gallon in September, with prices in California exceeding $8 in some areas.
\nRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Zelensky was directly challenging Trump by refusing to accept a deal aimed at easing the global diesel shortage.
\nIn recent months, Ukraine has ramped up long-range strikes on targets inside Russia, including civilian and energy infrastructure, amid continued setbacks at the front. Moscow has denounced the attacks as acts of terrorism and responded with strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president is \u201cdeflecting\u201d and unfairly blaming Kiev\u2019s strikes on Russian refineries for rising global diesel prices, the Ukrainian leader has claimed President Donald Trump made \u201ctotally false\u201d statements…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t