Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis described as a “complete shock“ the agreement between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on supplies of Russian diesel to the United States and international markets. His words were quoted by the Czech news portal iDNES.
“The deal that Trump concluded with Putin is a complete shock. It is time for Europe to wake up and start actively resolving the current situation, including participating in ending the war in Ukraine,“ Babis said.
Babiš expects proposals from European leaders
The Czech Prime Minister indicated that he expects concrete proposals to settle the Ukrainian conflict at the European Union summit in Brussels. The summit is scheduled to take place later this week.
His remarks came after a phone call between Trump and Putin on October 9. After the call, the US president said Russia would soon deliver more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the United States. He said another 500,000 tons would be sent to international markets in November, and Russia would then export an additional 1 million tons of the raw material.
Agreement sparks criticism
The agreement was announced against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and efforts by European countries to limit their dependence on Russian energy resources. The Associated Press reported that the deal had caused discontent among Ukrainian officials and US lawmakers. Six senators from both parties have called on the Trump administration to abandon its plan to buy Russian diesel.
Financial Times linked the decision to the US administration's attempt to lower fuel prices before the midterm elections for Congress, scheduled for November 3. In the United States, accusations were made that Trump had sided with Russia in its confrontation with Ukraine.
Sources: gazeta.press, idnes.cz