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Russia indicated Wednesday that the first contracts on providing diesel to the United States would be signed in the coming days, following US President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel.<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump last week announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow the country\u2019s diesel onto global markets in an effort to curb prices, which have soared in the wake of the Middle East war.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will all happen in the next few days,\u201d Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin\u2019s special envoy on economic cooperation, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies when asked when the first contracts might be signed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in very close, hourly contact with the American side, and everything is moving very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Alexander Novak, said that \u201cwe are currently working with American colleagues, at both the ministry and corporate levels, on supply contracts\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDeliveries will be made to global markets, including directly to the United States,\u201d Novak said, adding that Russian supplies could \u201creach 3-3.5 million tonnes by the end of the year\u201d \u2014 the same level as before Western sanctions were imposed.<\/p>\n He maintained that represented \u201c10 percent of the global market\u201d, and would help bring down energy prices.<\/p>\n Energy prices have been soaring globally since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, prompting Tehran to block off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.<\/p>\n Novak welcomed the agreement, which he said would mean \u201cadditional tax revenue for the (Russian) budget\u201d, as well as \u201cinvestment opportunities, at a time when Russian military spending has skyrocketed since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n The US-Russia diesel deal has drawn sharp criticism from Ukraine and Western allies, but Trump\u2019s administration has slammed the \u201chypocrisy\u201d of Europeans, accusing them of having continued to purchase large quantities of Russian fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n