The US Department of Energy has identified Russian companies that will participate in the supply of diesel fuel to the US market. This was announced by Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of the Russian President for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, during the “Russian Energy Week“ forum.
“The US Department of Energy has already identified certain companies that will work, everything is going well, and Alexander Valentinovich Novak and his team are also actively involved in this“, Dmitriev said. The names of the Russian companies were not disclosed.
Washington has requested assistance with payments
On October 16, Dmitriev also announced a new element in the preparation of the deal. According to him, the US Treasury Department has asked the Russian Direct Investment Fund to help with making payments and resolving technical issues.
He indicated that the fund would work to ensure that the payments were made and reached the recipients. The development shows that despite the political agreement, practical issues remain around the method of payment and the implementation of the deliveries.
The deliveries are part of a broader agreement
The deal, announced by US President Donald Trump after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, envisages Russia supplying 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and another 500,000 tonnes of other fuels for the US and global markets.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a license that allows operations related to Russian diesel fuel until April 7, 2027. The permit is part of Washington's attempt to increase fuel supplies and limit price pressure on American consumers.
Criticism from US senators and Kiev
US Democratic senators have spoken out against the decision to buy Russian diesel fuel for six months. They say the deal weakens sanctions pressure on Moscow and harms Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also criticized the agreement. He said that any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting agreement on de-escalation is a "clear weakness". Zelensky also said that the planned quantities will not have a significant impact on global diesel prices.
Neither the names of the Russian companies that will participate in the deliveries nor a specific schedule for the first shipments have been announced so far. The next stage is related to the finalization of contracts, logistics and the payment mechanism.
Sources: focus-news.net, aol.com, interfax.ru