The key facts

  • The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that additional volumes of Russian diesel will help stabilize global energy markets but will not eliminate the entire deficit
  • Peskov did not disclose the tankers' routes but assured that 'all the diesel will find its buyers'
  • According to the FT, one vessel headed for Brazil and another entered the Mediterranean Sea

Foreign Ministry statement on the role of Russian diesel

Additional volumes of Russian diesel fuel on global energy markets will help stabilize them, although they will not be able to fully eliminate the accumulated deficit. This was stated by Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the economic cooperation department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noting that the supplies are taking place amid growing macroeconomic turbulence. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti.

The fate of the tankers bound for the US

The statement came against the backdrop of the ongoing story of three tankers carrying Russian fuel that were originally headed to the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the change of course of two of the three vessels: according to him, the details of the routes are not public, but 'all the diesel will find its buyers.' According to the Financial Times, which Gazeta.Ru cites, one of the vessels headed for Brazil, while another entered the Mediterranean Sea. Earlier, American officials threatened ports with sanctions for accepting Russian diesel.

Context

Earlier, as Gazeta.Ru notes, Volodymyr Zelensky promised not to strike tankers carrying Russian oil heading to the US. Thus, the fate of the Russian diesel cargoes remains in the focus of several storylines at once: from the routes of specific vessels to statements about the impact of the supplies on the global fuel balance. The tankers' final destinations have not been officially confirmed — only the FT data on two vessels and Peskov's words that buyers will be found for the entire volume are known.