Trump says Ukraine needs a new president – Kremlin envoy hails 'historic' remarks
The U.S. president accused Zelenskyy of missing chances for peace and said Ukraine should get a new leader, amid a row over Russian diesel supplies to the United States.
Archive image · Photo: The White House / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday that Ukraine should "get a new leader who can make a deal," saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy "could have made many deals." Trump also blamed the Ukrainian president for high U.S. diesel prices, arguing that Kyiv's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure had hit supply. "He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel," Trump said.
On Friday, after a call with Vladimir Putin, Trump announced that Russia would "immediately" supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to U.S. and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November and then 1 million and 3 million tons. The Treasury issued a temporary general license. Zelenskyy called the deal a "gift to Putin" that would "not bring peace." Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev called Trump's remarks "iconic and historic." Unnamed European officials expressed dismay.
Analysts doubt the impact. Former IEA official Neil Atkinson said the volumes "don't really move the needle," given that the U.S. uses about 3.7 million barrels of diesel a day. Russia itself banned diesel exports in July and extended the ban to the end of October. The U.S. national diesel average hit a record $6.52 a gallon in September. Midterm elections are on Nov. 3.