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The US Department of the Treasury has issued a general licence authorising certain transactions related to the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of diesel fuel originating in Russia until April 7, 2027.
According to the document issued by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), General License No. 135 permits transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations. The authorisation covers activities involving Russian-origin diesel fuel, including its importation into the United States. The licence is valid until 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 7, 2027. However, the measure does not lift all US sanctions against Russia. It maintains financial restrictions on key Russian government institutions. Paragraph (b) in the document specifically states that it does not authorise debits to accounts held at US financial institutions belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Russian Ministry of Finance. This means the permission for specified diesel fuel transactions does not extend to the use of these restricted government accounts. The licence, dated October 9, 2026, was signed by Bradley T Smith, Director of OFAC. US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) said that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to American and global markets, followed by additional shipments in the coming months. Speaking about the "highly successful discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Russia would supply another 500,000 tonnes of diesel fuel during November and 1 million tonnes immediately thereafter. Trump hailed the diesel deal with Russia as a "big deal", thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for agreeing to supply "massive amounts" of diesel to the United States. I think you heard about the oil deal with Russia. That is a big deal. That is massive amounts of oil coming into our country. I want to thank President Putin. We have massive amounts of oil coming into our country, and it is diesel, which is what we want, Trump told reporters outside the White House before heading to Syracuse, New York, for the midterm election campaign. He added that Russia would deliver a further 3 million tonnes within a short period, depending on the condition of its diesel refineries. He further stated that the supplies, along with US control of the Strait of Hormuz, would bring down prices. Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak recently said the country's diesel fuel market was balanced and that Moscow would consider partially reopening exports only in the event of overproduction, Russia's TASS news agency reported. (ANI)
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