On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a quick tour of Central and South Asia in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during which he will also visit India. In an effort to strengthen trade relations with a region rich in natural resources and where his country faces great competition from China.
Following his arrival, on Sunday evening, in Uzbekistan, Rubio will visit, on Monday, the historical center of Samarkand, the city that was an important stop on the Silk Road, before participating in a series of bilateral and joint meetings of the countries of what is known as the “C5+1” formula, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The declared goal of this tour is to discuss diplomatic and trade issues, and to confront the growing Chinese influence in the region, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
However, it is taking place in the middle of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, which suggests that Rubio, who also holds the position of National Security Advisor in the White House, is leaving the hot files to President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, especially in the midst of the campaign for the midterm elections for the US Congress on November 3.
Rubio is leading a huge trade delegation that includes 200 business leaders to this ministerial meeting, which is organized under the auspices of Trump’s special envoy to Central and South Asia, Sergio Gore, who serves as the US ambassador to India and was himself born in the capital of Uzbekistan. Tashkent.
Trump had received the leaders of these five countries at the White House in November 2025.
Central Asia is a vast region with a population not exceeding 80 million people, and it contains huge reserves of raw materials.
A senior State Department official indicated on Friday that Washington wants to “strengthen the partnership across Central Asia,” especially in the energy sector.
Another senior American official, who requested to remain anonymous, said on Friday that the tour “has been planned for several months, and it represents an exceptional opportunity to strengthen the United States’ presence in a very important region in the world.”
Commercial agreement
The five former Soviet republics are still connected to Moscow through energy, migration and security networks, but Russian influence has been declining since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, which has been in China's interest.
Beijing is the main trading partner of the Central Asian republics. Chinese companies are signing an increasing number of agreements in the energy sector, enabling them, for example, to supply natural gas from Turkmenistan, uranium from Kazakhstan, and rare earths from Tajikistan.
For its part, the United States has made securing supplies of rare minerals and diversifying its energy sources two main pillars of its foreign policy.
After Uzbekistan, Rubio heads to India, where he visits Bombay and then Jamnagar in Gujarat. The two cities are industrial centers and major ports at the international level.
This will be the US Secretary of State's second official visit to India this year, after his first visit, last May, to New Delhi and Calcutta, which reflects Washington's efforts to strengthen its ties with this country.
Commenting on the agreement, which has been being negotiated for months between the United States and India, the high-ranking official said that the two sides are “very close” to concluding it.
Last February, the two countries reached a temporary trade agreement aimed at reducing US customs duties on Indian products.
But a few days later, the US Supreme Court invalidated a large number of generalized tariffs imposed by Trump, increasing the uncertainty about when the agreement will enter into force.
Negotiations have been taking place since then between the two countries.
Relations witnessed tension when Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods. In response to New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, but these duties were later removed.
During his visit to Bombay and Jamnagar, Rubio will mix diplomacy and business by meeting with Indian business leaders.
In particular, it will discuss the issue of an oil refinery in Texas that the Reliance Industries group, headed by Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, intends to finance.
Donald Trump on Sunday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war with Russia that has been going on for more than four years.
Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social: “My decision regarding Russia is very simple. “I am in the middle of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and I do not want to do anything that would foolishly push Russia away from the negotiating table.”
These statements come after Trump signed an executive order on Friday lifting broad new sanctions that had been stipulated in legislation bearing the name of the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, who was a staunch supporter of the defense of Ukraine.
Trump also temporarily suspended sanctions imposed on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities of it to flow into global markets, in an effort to reduce fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for early next month.
The diesel deal was met with shock by Kiev and its allies, and sparked a dispute between Trump and Zelensky, which led to a new deterioration in their volatile relationship.
Trump added, “Great progress is being made in war talks, including hostage negotiations!”
He continued, “Signing that document at this time will lead to that, and I can sign it later, or at any time I want!” However, he did not specify which document he meant.
Trump went on to say, “Perhaps most importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help Iran compared to what it could have done, and I want things to stay that way, and I will make sure that, unless stupid people intervene to obstruct it.”
He then repeated his accusation that Ukraine was deliberately targeting Russian oil refineries in an attempt to harm the Republican Party in the November 3 elections.
Opinion polls indicate that Trump's party is likely heading towards defeat in the elections, in light of great dissatisfaction among many voters with fuel prices, which have risen sharply since the outbreak of war in Iran in late February.
“Zelensky is using Russia’s diesel refineries as targets, knowing that these attacks are severely damaging global diesel markets, including markets in the United States,” Trump said.
He added, "Zelensky does not care, and frankly, with all the money that Europe gives him and what (former US President) deceitful Joe Biden gave him in the past, he does not want to end this war, and most likely he never wanted that at all."
The confrontation between US President Donald Trump and members of Congress from his party escalated after lawmakers threatened to block additional funding for the Pentagon worth at least $350 billion unless the administration backed down from easing sanctions on Russia and restored its military and intelligence support to Ukraine. The threat came in the latest episode of anger sparked by Trump's decision to suspend new sanctions on Moscow and an agreement to buy Russian diesel with the aim of lowering fuel prices, amid Republican and Democratic objections warning that this policy gives President Vladimir Putin additional resources to continue the war.
The threats are of particular importance because Defense Minister Pete Hegseth is seeking to approve the military spending package during the legislative session that follows the November 3 elections, as part of a broader plan to raise the defense budget to $1.5 trillion.
The Pentagon intends to pay an additional spending package of no less than $350 billion, including $47 billion to expand munitions production, and $17 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense system, in addition to investments in drones, artificial intelligence, and defense industries. But passing this package may become hostage to the dispute over Russia, at a time when analysts indicate that lawmakers’ threats are aimed at pushing President Trump to retract this decision if he wants to pass his legislative priorities.
The crisis came after Trump signed, on Friday, an executive order granting exemptions from sanctions and customs duties approved by Congress under a law bearing the name of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, and aimed at tightening economic pressure on Moscow and countries importing Russian energy. The president relied on powers that allow him to grant exemptions for reasons related to American national interest, without canceling all previous sanctions imposed on Russia. Trump spoke of initial quantities exceeding 300,000 metric tons, in an attempt to calm the markets and reduce the burden on the American consumer.
A direct threat to Trump's agenda
Republican Representative Don Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, was a vocal critic, warning that the administration's legislative agenda during the remainder of the Congress session may stall unless it changes its policy toward Russia and Ukraine. Bacon accused the administration of reducing the exchange of intelligence information with Kiev and restricting its access to satellite systems, helping the aggressor party. Also, Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick warned of consequences if Ukraine does not regain access to satellite technologies that have been subject to US restrictions. He stressed that government agencies will not receive funding if they do not perform their duties.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley described Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russia as a "gross miscalculation," warning that Putin seeks to weaken the West, and that easing sanctions gives him strategic gains at a time when pressure should be increased on him. She was joined by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who told Fox News that he understands Trump's desire to reduce gasoline and diesel prices, but he considers the decision a mistake, stressing that he will ask the president not to suspend the sanctions.
As for Republican Senator Thom Tillis, he described the step as “beyond the limits of irresponsibility,” questioning the reasons for obstructing the implementation of a law approved by the Senate by a majority of 86 votes to 11. He accused the administration of “making concessions to a Russian dictator who continues his war against Ukraine.”
The circle of objections expanded with the joining of Republican Senator Rick Scott, and 12 senators from both parties, including Republicans Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John Cornyn, and Thom Tillis, sent a letter to Trump demanding that he cancel the Russian diesel agreement and implement the new sanctions. The signatories warned that allowing Moscow to market its fuel harms American security interests and provides revenue for the Kremlin.
A reward for Putin
In the Democratic camp, Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the participants in drafting the sanctions law, accused Trump of undermining the will of Congress and abandoning European allies, considering that the exemptions do not serve American national security, but rather represent appeasement of Putin. Senator Elizabeth Warren joined the critics, while Democratic Representative Don Beyer described the decision as a direct challenge to the will of lawmakers and an undermining of American support for Ukraine. Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks took legislative action, submitting a draft law to prevent the implementation of the Russian diesel agreement, in an attempt to stop what Democrats consider to be an easing of economic pressure on Moscow at a sensitive time.
Russian circles welcomed the decision, describing the step as a historic moment that opens the way for easing economic restrictions and expanding cooperation in the field of energy. On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that easing sanctions would encourage Russia to continue its attacks, stressing that the decision is in Moscow's interest alone, and may pave the way for additional exemptions that undermine Western pressure policy.
Analysts believe that Trump's decision to reach an understanding with Putin to increase supplies of Russian diesel to global markets is an attempt to contain the rise in fuel prices resulting from the war with Iran and turmoil in energy markets, before the midterm congressional elections on November 3. However, his critics doubt the ability of these supplies to achieve a significant drop in prices during the two-week period remaining before the vote, and warn that the potential economic gains do not justify political concessions to Moscow.
Will Trump back down?
In the face of mounting anger, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the administration would benefit from a period of up to 60 days to study the economic effects of sanctions and customs duties, especially on countries that import Russian energy, including India. Analysts say that the deadline that the US Secretary of State is talking about does not mean a commitment to automatically reimpose sanctions, and that Congress’ recess until after the elections limits the ability of lawmakers to take immediate action, despite the widening opposition within the two parties.
For his part, Trump defended his decision, stressing that it would be good for the United States and the world, without making a pledge to back down. Analysts believe that continuing the exemptions is the most likely possibility, while keeping the option of amending them or restoring the sanctions as a negotiating card with Moscow. If diesel supplies fail to reduce prices, and Russia continues to escalate its war, Republican and Democratic pressures may increase after Congress returns to session.
Analysts say that Trump faces a difficult political equation. Backing down might show him submitting to pressure from legislators, while adhering to the decision threatens to widen the division within his party and give the Democrats a new electoral weapon.
