US President Donald Trump has suspended a number of sanctions on Russia two days before they were due to come into force, the BBC reports. The measures, passed by Congress and signed into law in September, gave the president powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas, notably China and India, and targeted senior Russian figures, banks and the so-called shadow fleet of tankers.
An executive order issued on Friday night said pausing some of them served the US national interest. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the pause would last 60 days while officials studied the effect on the global and US economies. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the decision and Moscow welcomed it, while lawmakers from both parties, including Republican senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, objected.
Source: BBC News