US-Russia deal on diesel is ‘very risky choice,’ Italy PM Meloni says

ROME: The deal between the United States and Russia over diesel supply is a “very risky choice” that runs counter to efforts to force Vladimir Putin to sit at a negotiating table with Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday.

The United States and Russia said last week they had agreed that Moscow would initially supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to US and global markets.

“The outcome of this decision is uncertain, while the risks are clear,” Meloni told parliament ahead of an EU summit this week.

“It provides Moscow with legitimacy as its bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian cities, generates new revenue to finance the war, and implicitly weakens the effectiveness of sanctions,” she added.