US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze sanctions and tariffs imposed on Russia for 60 days aims to assess the impact of these measures on the global economy, including the US economy.
Agence France-Presse quoted Rubio on Sunday as saying that Trump wants to use this period to analyze the potential effects of sanctions and tariffs, noting that economic restrictions affect several countries, not just Russia.
In the same context, Rubio clarified that escalating conflicts are affecting global energy markets and oil and diesel prices, pointing to the interplay of the consequences of the US-Iranian conflict and Houthi militia attacks on Saudi Arabia, and their repercussions on various economies.
For his part, Rubio noted that Russian diesel will reach global markets one way or another, considering the issue to be about the volume the United States will obtain, and emphasizing the importance of this fuel for the land transport, agriculture, and construction sectors in his country.
Trump’s decision sparked criticism from US lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties, after he signed an executive order last Friday suspending the implementation of sanctions, restrictions, and tariffs targeting Russian oil revenues, after he had signed a law last month granting him powers to impose these measures on buyers of Russian oil and gas.
The law targets the energy and defense sectors, senior Russian officials, as well as the so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.
The decision came after an agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently to resume Russian diesel exports in exchange for easing US sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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