Foreign Minister criticizes deal with Trump that lets Russia profit on diesel sales

Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen criticized the agreement U.S. President Donald Trump reached with Russia on supplying diesel, as European NATO allies have instead been trying to increase the economic pressure on Moscow. “It is not wise to conclude deals of this kind,” the CDA minister said on the television program Buitenhof.

Trump announced on Friday that Russia would supply millions of tons of diesel in the coming period, which could push down prices on the world market. The money Russia earns from the deal will go straight into the war in Ukraine, Berendsen warned. That makes the agreement between the U.S. and Russia “undesirable."

Diesel prices have climbed to record highs because of the war in the Middle East, which began this spring with large-scale U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Fuel prices are set to be a major issue in next month’s U.S. congressional elections.

On Saturday, Trump again verbally attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had criticized the deal with Putin. He said, among other things, that it was time for Ukraine to select a new leader.

“It is up to the Ukrainians to choose their president,” Berendsen said in response to Trump’s comments. “Zelenskyy has their support.” The minister also noted that this is not the first time Trump has spoken negatively about Zelenskyy, who won Ukraine’s presidential elections in 2019.