US President Donald Trump has signed a decree suspending sanctions against Russia that had been mandated by a bill aimed at penalising the Russian government and state companies. The suspension was announced two days before the bill was due to take effect, and the White House website published the decree.
The bill also proposed tariffs on countries that import energy from Russia. Trump signed that bill on 18 September. The article does not state the exact date of the decree.
Diesel deal behind the suspension
Trump announced on 9 October an agreement with Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel. In exchange, sanctions would be suspended temporarily.
Trump said the arrangement aimed to lower global fuel prices. The decree cited national interests as the basis for the suspension.
Congress passed the bill weeks earlier
The US Congress passed the sanctions bill only a few weeks before the suspension decree. The legislation was designed to hit Russian state companies and the countries that buy their oil and gas.
The article gives no year for these events.
Related: UK widens Russia sanctions to two energy firms and 12 tankers
Source: White House
