Bayraktar said Ankara had held talks with the Russian side and would get a share of the fuel covered by the deal. He called the arrangement important for Turkey's energy security, noting that the country imports energy from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. He did not specify volumes or delivery dates.
On October 9, US President Donald Trump said he had agreed with Vladimir Putin on supplies of Russian diesel to the American and global markets. The figures cited were more than 300,000 tonnes in the near term, another 500,000 tonnes in November, one million tonnes later, and three million tonnes on a timeline depending on the condition of Russian refineries.
The same day, the US Treasury issued General License No. 135, permitting transactions for the sale, delivery, unloading and import of Russian diesel, including into the United States, until April 7, 2027.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said exporters were negotiating with potential buyers and that the American side had already identified counterpart companies. After commercial agreements are signed, he said, diesel will reach the US market within 15-20 days and arrive sooner in countries closer to Russia. Fuel is to be delivered to the United States by tanker.
A ban on diesel exports had been in force in Russia since July 8. The day after Trump's statement, Novak said the restriction was being lifted ahead of the planned schedule.
On October 15, Reuters reported that Russia had resumed export shipments of diesel from the Baltic port of Primorsk. According to LSEG ship tracking, a tanker carrying about 40,000 tonnes of fuel was loaded there on October 13 and headed for Morocco. No actual start of deliveries to Turkey has been reported.
The deal was criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European officials and members of both parties in the US Congress. Republican Don Bacon called Trump's decision a disgrace, and his party colleague Brian Fitzpatrick said lawmakers were preparing a bipartisan bill to ban all purchases of Russian oil. On October 17, Democrat Gregory Meeks, deputy chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill to cancel the deal aimed at prohibiting "corrupt oil deals with the Russian Federation."