Tusk blames Trump for higher fuel prices, urges the truth to be said

Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, directly accused US President Donald Trump of being responsible for the recent global rise in fuel costs during a debate in the lower house of the Polish parliament, the Sejm.

Addressing members of the opposition’s far right — many of whom have long supported Trump — Tusk argued that the causes of higher prices go beyond local markets and pointed to international developments that have disrupted maritime traffic.

"We have fuel prices that are the lowest in the European Union, indeed the lowest at the moment, yet it is obviously devilishly expensive for people. I am aware of that. I think, finally, it's time to say it out loud. Yes, Donald is to blame for it, there is no doubt about that. But your hero, not the prime minister of Poland. You know very well who is responsible for fuel prices," Tusk said.

Operations in the Strait of Hormuz and disputed policy choices

Tusk linked the price spike to a new energy shock hitting the world economy after US military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route that carries around a fifth of global oil consumption. Those operations have disrupted tanker traffic, pushed up sea-transport costs and interrupted regular crude oil supplies.

President Trump, meanwhile, has sought to shift blame ahead of US congressional elections, attributing higher fuel costs to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities and defending his controversial freeze of sanctions on imports of Russian diesel.

Photo: press material from the event