Trump’s diesel deal with Putin is Russian roulette

U.S. President Donald Trump has struck a Faustian bargain with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel – a stupefying reversal of foreign policy that directly threatens Ukraine and, by extension, every Western democracy.

In case you missed it, Mr. Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Friday to announce a pact that would see Russia resume diesel exports with Washington’s blessing.

It seems that Russia, which banned most diesel exports back in July after sustaining damage to its refineries, will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the United States and other global buyers. It will then release another 500,000 tons in November, with four million more tons to follow in no time flat, according to Mr. Trump.

“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” Mr. Trump wrote in his post.

“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority. This is a very big and important announcement.”

He later proclaimed an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, apparently without consulting either country. Details, schmetails.

Russia promptly struck a trio of energy targets in Ukraine, demonstrating its commitment to peace. Predictable, indeed.

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“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a social-media post before the attacks. “Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy.”

That would have been obvious to any past U.S. president. Mr. Trump instead inked a diabolical deal that will ultimately fund Moscow’s deadly war machine.

This is a betrayal of Ukraine and its allies. That Mr. Trump is so willing to sell out Western democratic values for a relatively small amount of Russian diesel, the 4.8 million tonnes would satisfy about 10 days of U.S. demand for the fuel, is venal.

The diesel pact was announced just days after G7 countries jointly agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel, and not even a month after Mr. Trump signed into law the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.″ That legislation expands the scope of punitive sanctions that can be imposed on countries that import Russian energy.

Lindsey Graham, the late senator from South Carolina, must be spinning in his grave.

A mix of Republican and Democratic senators voiced their opposition to the diesel deal on Tuesday. The timing comes just weeks before the midterm elections.

Was the Trump-Putin diesel pact motivated by other considerations? Perhaps it’s because members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle are reportedly pursuing business interests in Russia involving energy and critical minerals. We’ll see.

In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s attempt to talk down the price of diesel will surely fail. There is a growing consensus that the pact will have a negligible effect on prices.

The following quote sums it up nicely.

“It’s kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic,” Michael Lynch, distinguished fellow at Energy Policy Research Foundation, told the Associated Press.

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As Mr. Lynch points out, if the U.S. buys diesel from Russia, that won’t extinguish demand from Russia’s existing buyers, “and that will keep the price basically where it is now.”

Mr. Trump’s military campaign in Iran, of course, is the real reason that diesel prices have soared since the conflict started in February and hit a high in September, driving up transportation costs and, in turn, consumer prices for food and other goods.

Although that should spell serious trouble for Republicans in the midterms on Nov. 3, American voters are apparently gluttons for punishment.

No matter what happens at the U.S. polls next month, Mr. Trump’s diesel deal underscores why Canada, as a staunch ally of Ukraine, must plot its own path on energy security. Ottawa is suddenly contending with two hostile powers that are striking backroom deals with each other.

Prime Minister Mark Carney released related statements over the weekend that demonstrate this predicament. The first said the U.S.-Russia agreement “is in direct opposition to the efforts of Ukraine, Canada, and our allies” to ensure peace in Europe.

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“It will provide additional revenue for Russia and help finance its illegal, unjustifiable war against Ukraine,” Mr. Carney said.

His second statement, however, took a more conciliatory tone. Not only did Mr. Carney thank Mr. Trump for “his leadership toward securing an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia,” but he pledged to “continue to maximize our exports of oil and diesel to the United States.”

Once upon a time, the president of the U.S. would have focused on defending Western values and working with allies, including Canada, to ease energy supply constraints.

Democracy, however, is inconvenient. It is easier to do business with a demagogue.