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Wright Defends Russia Diesel Sanctions Waiver in CNN Interview with Dana Bash

October 18, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:06:54

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined CNN’s Dana Bash on October 18, 2026, to discuss President Trump’s waiver exempting Russia from a sanctions law that was set to take effect that morning. Wright said, as he stated it, that the main sanctions on Russia all remain in place, that the United States has sanctioned Russia’s biggest oil companies, and that almost all Russian oil must now go to China at a discount and with long delays.

According to Wright, the waiver covered only diesel exports. He said Russia has been unable to export diesel for roughly the past month because it is short of diesel itself, and that the world is short of diesel, so allowing Russian diesel to reach the market would, as he put it, benefit American consumers and the world.

Asked whether the move pressures Ukraine rather than Russia, Wright responded, as he stated it, that it pressures Russia: the only way Russia can obtain additional diesel to export is to turn down the conflict with Ukraine, reach an energy ceasefire, or end the war. He framed the waiver as both consumer relief and a step toward peace in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Why it matters

The appearance is part of the administration’s energy agenda — expanding supply, grid capacity, and permitting — and its claims about prices, projects, and markets are the record against which its energy promises will be measured.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins CNN’s Dana Bash - October 18, 2026”, 2026-10-18 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-10-18). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.