美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）周一加倍强调，他决定在日益激烈的反对声中允许俄罗斯柴油进口，称这是“正确的选择”，并辩称欧洲此前也从俄罗斯购买了能源产品。
特朗普在周一早上的一篇社交媒体帖子中说，“欧盟向俄罗斯支付了2500亿美元的能源费”，并补充说，“我为美国人民做出了正确的选择——永远是美国第一！”
特朗普没有具体说明2500亿美元所涵盖的时期。能源和清洁空气研究中心的估计追踪自与乌克兰开战以来欧盟从俄罗斯进口化石燃料的支出大致与特朗普提到的数字相符。
特朗普发表上述言论之前，一小群两党参议员站出来反对特朗普政府的解禁计划在美国价格飙升的情况下，俄罗斯石油制裁和进口新的供应。参议员们在周日的一份声明中敦促政府撤销其决定，因为与乌克兰的战争正在进行，并且禁止俄罗斯能源进口。
“在俄罗斯继续杀害乌克兰平民的时候，美国不应该向普京提供财政生命线。政府必须立即改变方针，”参议员们在声明中写道。
川普周五宣布，他与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京达成协议，立即进口30万吨柴油，并承诺还将进口数百万吨。
该声明由共和党参议员苏珊·科林斯、托姆·蒂利斯、约翰·柯蒂斯和莉萨·穆尔科斯基以及民主党参议员珍妮·沙欣、理查德·布卢门撒尔和罗恩·怀登签署。
参议员们还认为，此举违反了2022年禁止俄罗斯能源进口的法律，并为俄罗斯可能从对乌克兰的战争中获得经济利益打开了大门。
“特朗普总统允许俄罗斯柴油进口到美国的决定直接违反了这项法律。参议员们在声明中写道：“政府也没有按照法律要求与国会协商，或提交任何解释来证明其决定的合理性。”。
2022年4月，国会通过《终止进口俄罗斯石油法案》，禁止进口俄罗斯能源产品。虽然法律确实允许总统在某些条件下解除禁令，但在这样做之前需要向国会提出正当理由，而参议员们认为这并没有发生。
乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基也尖锐批评了这一决定，在周末接受美国广播公司采访时说这笔交易相当于一个“明显的弱点”
“这正中俄罗斯的下怀——让它可以杀更多的人，打更长时间的战争，更不尊重美国，给世界造成更大的损失和破坏，”他说。“我们指望美国公平地支持我们保护生命、保护乌克兰人民，并指望美国与俄罗斯进行相应的有力对话。强的，不是弱的。”
特朗普的决定是在他签署两党协议几周后做出的林赛·格雷厄姆制裁俄罗斯和伊朗法案该法案授权对继续购买俄罗斯石油的国家征收关税。现在，一些参议员，如蒂利斯，表示特朗普最近的行动与立法中的努力背道而驰。
“我完全拒绝，”蒂利斯周日在全国广播公司的“会见新闻界”节目中说。“如果川普总统想结束能源供应紧张的局面，第一，把伊朗的事情做好，第二，要认识到是弗拉基米尔·普京，而不是泽连斯基，挑起了这场战争。弗拉基米尔·普京对能源价格负有责任，因为它们来自世界的那个地区。”
蒂利斯说，购买俄罗斯柴油的协议“在本质上，我认为，玷污了林赛·格雷厄姆试图通过制裁法案的努力。”
然而，其他共和党人仍在继续袖手旁观特朗普，包括众议院多数党党鞭汤姆·埃默（Tom Emmer），他是乌克兰的公开支持者，此前曾投票决定对俄罗斯实施制裁。
艾默周日告诉美国广播公司新闻频道（ABC News）“本周”联合主播乔恩·卡尔（Jon Karl），该协议是“我们总统打破常规思维的又一个例子”，旨在通过在中期选举前向美国进口燃料来解决美国公众对石油和天然气价格高企的担忧。
“他在听美国人民的，乔恩。总的来说，在柴油和燃料方面，美国人民因为这个世界市场而受到伤害。
埃默还称赞该协议是特朗普试图在俄罗斯和乌克兰之间达成和平协议的又一策略。
“我认为这只是试图解决这个问题的又一步，”他说。
Trump stands by Russia diesel plan despite backlash： ＇I made the right choice＇
President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his decision to allow Russian diesel imports amid growing backlash， calling it the ＂right choice＂ and arguing that Europe has previously purchased energy products from Russia as well．
Trump said in a Monday morning social media post that the ＂European Union paid Russia 250 Billion Dollars for Energy＂ and added， ＂I made the right choice for the American People — ALWAYS， AMERICA FIRST！＂
Trump did not specify the period covered by $250 billion figure．Estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Airtracking how much the EU has spent importing fossil fuels from Russia since the start of war with Ukraine roughly align with the figure Trump mentioned．
Trump＇s comments come after a small group of bipartisan senators came out against the Trump administration＇s plan to liftRussian oil sanctions and import a new supply amid spiking prices in the U．S． The senators， in a statement on Sunday， urged the administration to reverse its decision due to the ongoing war with Ukraine and ban on Russian energy imports．
＂The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians． The Administration must immediately reverse course，＂ the senators wrote in the statement．
Trump announced on Friday that he made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately import 300，000 tons of its diesel fuel， with a promise that millions more are coming．
The statement was signed by Republican Sens． Susan Collins， Thom Tillis， John Curtis and Lisa Murkowski as well as Democratic Sens． Jeanne Shaheen， Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden．
The senators also argued the move violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports and opens the door to allowing Russia to potentially benefit financially on its war against Ukraine．
＂President Trump＇s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U．S． runs directly counter to that law． The Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute，＂ the senators wrote in the statement．
In April 2022， Congress passed the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act， banning imports of Russian energy products． While the law does allow the president to lift the ban under certain conditions， it requires a justification to Congress before doing so， which the senators argue did not happen．
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized the decision， too，saying in an interview with ABC News over the weekendthat the deal amounts to an ＂obvious weakness．＂
＂It plays into Russia’s hands -- allowing it to kill more， wage war for longer， have even less respect for America， and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world，＂ he said． ＂We count on America＇s fair support for our defense of life， for our defense of people in Ukraine -- and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia． A strong one， not a weak one．＂
Trump＇s decision comes weeks after he signed the bipartisanLindsey O． Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act， which authorizes tariffs on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil． Now， some senators， such as Tillis， say Trump＇s recent action runs counter to the efforts in the legislation．
＂I completely reject it，＂ Tillis said on NBC’s ＂Meet The Press＂ on Sunday． ＂If President Trump wants to end the strain of energy supplies， number one， get things right in Iran， and number two， recognize that it was Vladimir Putin， not Zelenskyy， that started this war． And it＇s Vladimir Putin who owns the responsibility for energy prices to the extent that they come from that part of the world．＂
Tillis said the agreement to purchase Russian diesel is ＂essentially， I think， tarnishing Lindsey Graham＇s efforts to try and get those sanctions bill through．＂
However， other Republicans are continuing to stand by Trump， including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer， who is a vocal supporter of Ukraine and previously voted to establish sanctions on Russia．
Emmer told ABC News＇ ＂This Week＂ co-anchor Jon Karl on Sunday that the deal was ＂another example of our president thinking out of the box＂ to address the American public＇s concerns about high oil and gas prices by importing fuel to the U．S． ahead of the midterm elections．
＂He＇s listening to the American people， Jon． The American people are hurting because of this world market when it comes to diesel and fuel in general，” Emmer said．
Emmer also hailed the deal as another tactic in Trump＇s attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine．
＂I think this is just another step of trying to get that resolved，＂ he said．
