Washington: Twelve US senators, including former Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate India Caucus co-chair John Cornyn, on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump to rescind his Russian diesel deal and instead use new sanctions powers against Moscow’s “chief enablers”, naming China.
“This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded,” the senators wrote in a letter to Trump.
The letter was signed by Democrats Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jack Reed and Chris Coons, and Republicans Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Alan Armstrong, Lisa Murkowski, McConnell and Cornyn.
It targets the Treasury Department’s General License No. 135, which the senators said “lifts sanctions on Russia’s diesel exports”.
“Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war,” the letter said.
The senators urged Trump to use the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which he signed in September.
“These authorities require you to apply economic pressure on Russia and the chief enablers of its war, in particular China, and thereby enhance your negotiating position to bring a swift end to this ruinous conflict,” they wrote.
The letter does not mention India.
The senators acknowledged “the urgent need to lower energy costs for American families” amid the war with Iran, but said the deal “will have a negligible impact on fuel prices”.
“Putin is a tyrant,” they wrote. “Withdraw from this agreement, rescind General License No. 135, and execute the authorities provided under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.”
The letter widens the Republican opposition. On Sunday, seven senators led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Shaheen had urged the administration to reverse course. McConnell, Cornyn and Armstrong were not among them.
Trump defended the deal on Tuesday as he left the White House for a campaign trip to Alaska.
“It’s a deal for the world. It’s not a deal for us. It’s a way of getting a lot of oil out to the world. It’s not a deal with me. It’s a deal for the world, and it brought down prices,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn, according to a pool report.
Asked whether Russia would use diesel revenue to buy bombs, he said: “Nobody told me anything. That’s a diesel deal, not for us.”
The Graham Act allows the President to raise duties of up to 100 per cent on goods from countries among the largest buyers of Russian crude oil that make new purchases. The first duties under Section 113 can take effect from October 18.
The administration has not said whether India will face the duties or whether Trump will issue a waiver.
Trump announced the diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 9. Congress banned Russian energy imports into the US in 2022.
(IANS)
