US President Donald Trump said Russia had agreed to supply diesel to US and global markets as he faced pressure over high diesel prices ahead of next month’s midterm elections. Australia’s energy and climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said Saturday that Australia did not “need or want Russian fuel” and wouldn’t change its approach to excluding Russian fuel from its supply arrangements.
Fuel supply and political pressure
Trump wrote on social media on Saturday morning Australian time that, after a “highly successful discussion” with Vladimir Putin, Russia had agreed to immediately supply “300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel.” He said a further 500,000 tons would arrive in November, with supply later rising to 3m tons depending on “the condition of [Russia’s] diesel refineries.”
High prices brought pressure. Trump’s announcement came amid high diesel prices in the US and political pressure before the midterm elections. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the deal. Fuel buyers in US and global markets are the stated beneficiaries, but the base article gives no figures for the financial terms or the revenue Russia would receive.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the deal “plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world”.
Bowen said Australia had arrangements with trading partners “as best as we possibly can” to prevent Russian fuel from flowing to the country. “We do not want Vladimir Putin to benefit from this war in the Middle East,” he said. Bowen said what the United States did was “a matter for them,” but Australia would keep its existing policy.
Who bears the supply squeeze
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she wanted more oil supplied and didn’t rule out Australia making a similar deal. Asked whether she would support Australia taking the same action as Trump, Hanson said countries should work together if resources were available because “a lot of countries are suffering from this lack of oil.”
“We cannot see countries come to an absolute standstill, businesses shutting down, the cost to the consumer,” Hanson said. She didn’t answer a follow-up question about whether Russian oil should specifically be included. In her speech to the CPAC convention in Brisbane, she called for Australia to “produce our own fuel as the world becomes more dangerous.”
Bowen gave figures on Australia’s available supply: 43 days’ worth of petrol and 31 days’ worth of diesel, consistent with recent updates. He said 51 ships carrying fuel were on the way to Australia, while 3.2bn litres of different fuel types were “locked in and contracted to be delivered over the next four weeks.”
State policy and fuel arrangements
Bowen said Australia would maintain its “very, very firm view” that Russia shouldn’t be rewarded for its invasion of Ukraine through arrangements made because of the Middle East crisis. He said policy decisions by other countries were their own matter.
Uncertainty remained in the Middle East amid Trump’s protracted war with Iran. Trump had promised that week not to launch more attacks on Iran before the midterm elections.
Bowen said the international situation remained difficult. He had met senior Saudi Arabian representatives during a meeting in Fiji to prepare for the UN climate talks in Turkey, and said attacks in Saudi Arabia continued. He expressed confidence that the Saudi Arabian government was taking steps to keep fuel flowing.
Australia would continue working with trading partners in south-east Asia and beyond, including India and Saudi Arabia, Bowen said. The government was also working with domestic refiners to ensure they operated “at full pelt,” and Bowen remained in regular contact with their chief executives.