The key facts

  • Peskov refused to discuss reports of the diesel deal collapsing, calling the details commercial
  • According to Gazeta.Ru, on October 28 Novak announced the dispatch of the first three tankers with fuel to the United States
  • The Financial Times wrote that two tankers had allegedly changed course due to concerns of American buyers

The Kremlin's response to reports of the deal collapsing

Press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov on November 5 refused to comment on media reports about a possible collapse of the diesel deal between Moscow and Washington. according to Gazeta.Ru. At the same time, Peskov expressed confidence that all of the Russian diesel already shipped

What preceded these statements

The question arose against the backdrop of a series of contradictory reports. On October 28 Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announcedthat Russia had already sent the first three tankers with fuel to the United States under the diesel deal. However, this week the Financial Times wrotethat two of the three tankers heading to the United States had changed course and, according to the newspaper, were now heading to other regions. The authors of the article suggested that the reason could have been the caution of American buyers, who fear legal consequences and sanctions risks.

Resistance at the state level and what remains unknown

Earlier, as Gazeta.Ru notes, it was reported that New Jersey authorities threatened to block the arrival of diesel from Russia at their own risk. Thus, the Kremlin's official position boils down to the fact that the fate of the shipments is a commercial matter, while reports about route changes and resistance at the state level remain unconfirmed by the Russian side itself. The publications contain no data on the tankers' actual location or on whether the fuel was unloaded in the United States.