The US Secretary of State defends the suspension of sanctions against Russia and says that Trump will analyze the economic impact of the measures for 60 days.

The US Secretary of State defends the suspension of sanctions against Russia and says Trump will analyze the economic impact of the measures for 60 days One day after renouncing the sanctions and customs duties related to Russian exports, US President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he has not yet made a final decision on this matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that American officials need more time to evaluate the situation. Rubio noted that Trump will grant himself up to 60 days to analyze the economic impact of the sanctions and customs duties related to Russia, which he renounced one day earlier, according to Reuters. "Many of you still don't know what my decision is, but we will see what happens and you will find out too," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. The renunciation of these measures comes only a few weeks before the parliamentary elections in the middle of the term, scheduled for November, in a context where Trump is under pressure due to high energy prices, amid the disruption of global oil supplies caused by the war with Iran. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order suspending the application of certain sanctions and customs duties stipulated by the Graham Act, which he signed last month, at the request of parliamentarians who want to exert pressure on Moscow due to the war in Ukraine. The measures, which include customs duties on Russian products and sanctions against countries that purchase oil and gas from Russia, were to come into effect next week. The order signed on Friday did not specify how long this derogation would remain in force, but Rubio stated that Trump opted for a period of 60 days to evaluate the situation. "I believe the President wants to use this 60-day period to analyze the impact that imposing the sanctions and customs duties will have on both the global economy and the American economy," Rubio told reporters before boarding an airplane bound for Uzbekistan. The situation is complicated by the fact that the Graham Act provides not only sanctions against Russia but also customs duties on products from countries that import Russian energy resources. Rubio mentioned the case of India, an important partner of the United States, which has diversified its energy supply sources but still largely depends on Russian oil. The executive order signed on Friday was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who warned that the decision would encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin and prolong the war. Delivery of gasoline Rubio also defended a separate agreement reached between the United States and Russia to increase gasoline deliveries to international markets, aimed at reducing fuel prices, which have risen due to the war with Iran and the disruption of energy supplies. Under the agreement, Russia was to initially deliver over 300,000 tons of gasoline to the United States, Trump stated. Other deliveries are planned for November and later. "The gasoline will be sold in one way or another. The only difference is how much of it will reach the United States," said Rubio. The US Secretary of State affirmed that the agreement on gasoline and the suspension of sanctions reflect the difficulty of managing the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which have disrupted the global energy supply. "These conflicts around the world are beginning to overlap and affect each other," he stated.