Rubio says Trump will have up to 60 days to reassess lifting sanctions on Russia

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. — Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will have up to 60 days to evaluate the economic impacts of the suspension of sanctions and tariffs related to Russia, said this Saturday (17) the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

The measures had been suspended the day before, and Trump has not yet announced a definitive decision on the matter.

“I think the president wants to use this 60-day period to look at what applying sanctions and tariffs would mean for the global economy and even the U.S. economy,” Rubio told reporters before embarking on a trip to Uzbekistan.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday that suspended sanctions and tariffs under the so-called Graham Law. He signed the legislation into law last month after pressure from lawmakers advocating measures to pressure Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

The measures include tariffs on Russian products and penalties on countries that buy oil and gas from Russia. They were supposed to come into force next week, but the executive order suspended their application without specifying how long the decision would remain valid.

According to Rubio, Trump chose to use the 60-day period to evaluate the possible economic effects of the measures.

“Many of you still don’t know what my decision is, but we’re going to work it out, and you’ll know,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

The suspension was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who warned that the decision could strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin and prolong the war.

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Diesel supply

Rubio also defended on Saturday a separate agreement between the US and Russia to increase the supply of diesel in global markets. The aim is to alleviate fuel prices, which have risen amid the war with Iran and interruptions in energy supplies.

“This diesel will be sold one way or another,” Rubio said. “The only difference is how much of it the US could get.”

According to Trump, under the agreement, Russia would initially supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the US, followed by shipments in November and the following months.

The diesel deal is “an incentive to try to end the war, not an economic lifeline” for Russia, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with ABC's This Week program on Sunday.

“But the only way they can export additional diesel is by reducing the conflict with Ukraine,” Wright said in an interview also this Sunday.

“If Russia can get additional diesel onto the market and export it, it will benefit American consumers,” he said. “He is exerting pressure that would benefit American consumers and represent a step forward toward peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.”

Rubio said the diesel deal and the lifting of sanctions reflect the difficulty of managing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which have caused disruptions in global energy supplies.

“These conflicts around the world are starting to clash with each other,” he said.