Trump suspends Russia sanctions package citing national interest

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday suspending a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest.

The legislation, named after the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, had been signed by Trump himself last month and was due to take effect in two days. It sought to clamp down more quickly on financial resources fuelling Russia's war against Ukraine.

“The pause was in the national interest.”

The package sanctions Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving. It also directs Trump to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries importing less than 15 percent of Russia's natural gas exports.

The decision follows Trump's announcement a week earlier that the United States had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices. Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel, followed by additional shipments in November and thereafter.

Congressional Democrats condemned the move, and a bipartisan group of senators, including six Republicans, urged Trump to rescind the diesel deal and execute the sanctions authorities included in the legislation.