Republicans In Congress Push Back Against Trump's Diesel Deal With Putin

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was reported by The Hill, according to Ukrinform.

Commenting on the deal, Senator John Kennedy (Republican of Louisiana) said he supported the president's decision but did not approve of“his decision to import it from Putin.”

“Vladimir Putin is a butcher. He's a butcher of his own people. And he's a butcher of the good people of Ukraine. He will never be our friend. So the president is doing everything he can to get diesel prices down. But you know what's going to bring diesel prices down? An end to the war in Iran,” the senator added.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican of Alaska) likewise said Trump“should be using those authorities [provided under the sanctions law – ed.] instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine.”

“We can discuss Russia's return to global energy markets once the war is over, but in the meantime, we need to cut off everything fueling it,” she said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (Republican of Pennsylvania) unveiled a bipartisan bill cslled the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act. He said the legislation was intended to prevent Donald Trump from lifting sanctions.

Representative Don Bacon (Republican of Nebraska) has already joined the initiative as a co-sponsor.

“[Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelensky has the overwhelming support of the United States Congress, he has the overwhelming support of the American people, and he has the overwhelming support of the Ukrainian people,” Fitzpatrick wrote on social media.

Another House member, Michael McCaul (Republican of Texas), a former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was“concerned the lifting of sanctions on Russian oil will only fund the Kremlin's war machine – emboldening more violence and destruction, as we have seen in recent days.”

Read also: FM Sybiha responds to Trump 's statement on election of new Ukrainian President

As reported by Ukrinform, on October 9, U.S. President Donald Trump said that, with U.S. approval, Russia would immediately supply 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the global market. According to Trump, another 500,000 tons would be delivered in November, followed by 1 million tons. Russia subsequently pledged to release an additional 3 million tons of diesel fuel onto the market.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that gifts to Putin will not bring peace.

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