German defence minister: Diesel deal with Russia shows Trump is at a dead end

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius believes that US President Donald Trump's latest shift towards Russia is the result of intense domestic political pressure.

As reported by dpa, speaking at an employers' conference in Berlin, Pistorius said Trump has his "back to the wall" with just a few weeks to go before the US midterm elections.

"History shows that whenever leaders are under pressure at home, they seek a way out with foreign policy," the minister said, adding that he believes Trump's move will backfire.

Pistorius's comments came after Trump announced on 9 October that he had reached an agreement on supplies of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel from Russia following a conversation with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from European allies and within the United States, as has Trump's call for the appointment of a new president of Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy.