NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also weighed in on the arrangement, saying he understood European concern and “raised an eyebrow myself,” while noting that Europe bought €6 billion ($6.5 billion) of Russian liquefied natural gas in the first half of the year. “That is much more than the diesel deal will ever generate,” Rutte said. “So Europe is not innocent either.”

The diversions stall a White House effort to ease domestic fuel prices as US diesel inventories sit below 100 million barrels, a 20-year low. While Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev earlier dismissed reports of the rerouted vessels as “fake” and insisted the shipments remained on course, tracking data showed the Leruo heading toward Brazil, the sanctioned Talisman signaling “for orders” near Algeria, and the Agioi Fanendes dropping New York as its confirmed destination.