Marco Rubio Announces 60-Day Pause on Russian Oil Sanctions
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a 60-day sanctions waiver on Saturday, pausing key provisions of the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 to assess the global economic fallout of targeting buyers of Russian oil. The pause affects trade policies impacting major refiners like India’s Reliance Industries.
Marco Rubio Tours Jamnagar Refinery Amid 60-Day Tariff Pause
US President Donald Trump waived key provisions of the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on Friday, shelving punitive tariffs on countries buying Russian crude. Speaking on Saturday before departing on a six-day tour of Uzbekistan and India, Rubio stated that the 60-day window allows Washington to evaluate the broader economic impact on both the global market and the domestic US economy.
Rubio arrived on his tour accompanied by a 200-member business delegation. His itinerary includes a visit to Reliance Industries Limited’s massive refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The facility is a major processor of Russian crude and stands as the largest purchaser of Venezuelan crude outside the US. Trump previously announced a $300 billion refinery deal with Reliance in March, under which the company plans to build a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas.
US Buys Russian Diesel to Boost Global Fuel Supplies
Washington has simultaneously announced plans to buy 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and a potential 1 million tonnes in December. The US Treasury Department has suspended sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7, 2027. The administration defended these purchases as a measure to boost global fuel supplies and ease prices, noting that Russian diesel production has fallen nearly 30 percent year on year due to Ukrainian drone and missile strikes, as reported by the International Energy Agency.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air published a report on October 16 detailing that seven shipments from refineries deemed high-risk under European Union guidance arrived at European ports in September. Six of those originated at Jamnagar. The report estimated that refineries in India, Türkiye, and Brunei processing Russian crude exported €1 billion worth of oil products to sanctioning countries during September, marking a 43 percent month-on-month increase.
Diplomatic Itinerary and Trade Negotiations in Mumbai
New Delhi has maintained that sanctions over Russian crude imports threaten both bilateral ties and international energy stability. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declined to comment directly on the US-Russia commercial diesel arrangement, stating that India has always advocated for stability in global energy markets.
Rubio is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 20, to discuss greater energy cooperation and commercial investment. The discussions follow a period of strained relations characterized by US closeness to Pakistan’s military leadership, immigration restrictions, and choppy trade negotiations centered on protecting Indian agricultural interests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump could potentially meet twice by mid-December, first at the East Asia Summit in Manila in mid-November and later on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Florida.