Czech President Petr Pavel has said a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was “quite close” until US President Donald Trump announced a deal for Russia to supply diesel to the United States, in an interview conducted on Tuesday with the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which includes POLITICO.
Source: POLITICO via Daily Guardian Europe
Pavel said coordinated US and European sanctions on Russian oil, oligarchs and other industries had been putting Russia “under strain”, but the diesel deal gave Moscow “time to breathe”. “It will be much harder now,” he said. “Russia uses this momentum to get out of pressure, and it’s kind of a moral boost for them.”
‘A mistake’, not yet ‘betrayal’
Asked about the deal, Pavel declined to say the United States had betrayed Ukraine or its European partners. “I don’t know yet if we can call it betrayal, but I would call it a mistake,” he said, adding that it was giving Russia “new hope that they can disregard Europe, they can disregard Ukraine, they can focus on making a deal with the United States, potentially with China” — which he said was “clearly against our interest in Europe”.
Pavel also offered support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I believe that President Zelensky and the whole of Ukraine is a victim of a conflict,” he said. “It was not Ukraine who attacked Russia.” Zelenskyy had earlier said on social media that the diesel deal “plays into Russia’s hands”, according to the POLITICO report.
What the deal involves
Trump has said Russia would immediately export 300,000 metric tons of diesel, or 2.25 million barrels — yaani about 22.5 lakh barrels — followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter, Reuters reported on October 21. The White House said on Wednesday that Trump had “successfully negotiated” the deal to supply global markets with diesel and bring prices down.
Source: Reuters via Kitco News
Analysts cited by Reuters were sceptical that those volumes would lower prices much: Michelle Brouhard of data firm Kpler said it would take an extra 400,000 barrels a day to materially ease the market, while the first shipment works out at only about 73,000 barrels a day if spread over a month. US retail diesel prices topped $6 a gallon in September for the first time ever, Reuters said.
Pavel did not rule out European countries one day buying Russian oil again, but said that would take time. “If one day Russia is a country respecting other countries’ sovereignty and borders, why not have regular business with such a country? But Russia is not there yet,” he said.