President Trump has temporarily waived some sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector and economy as he says he’s “in the process of negotiating peace.”
WASHINGTON —
President Donald Trump has temporarily waived some key sanctions targeting Russia‘s economic and energy infrastructure, arguing the move will keep the country at the negotiating table and put an end to the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions, which are part of the bipartisan Lindsey Graham Act passed last month, were designed to target Russia’s energy sector and economy, which have helped fund the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
“My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!”
The Trump administration said the waived sanctions would last for the next 60 days.
“The president’s been clear he’d like the war in Ukraine and Russia to end,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said to reporters over the weekend. “He’s done the things he’s done with suspending the sanctions for 60 days because he wants to see if there’s an opportunity for the talks that are going on right now with both Ukraine and Russia to lead to something positive and avoid another disastrous year of war and conflict.”
But the decision drew criticism from international leaders, who argued it would be too “soft” a move on Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “unfortunate.”
“It’s unbelievable. It’s a tragedy. It’s a historic mistake and big tragedy,” Zelenskyy said. “If the United States will take officially, will take the side of Russia, of course, if the two countries will be together, of course, of course we will not prevail.”
The pause drew criticism from bipartisan lawmakers, including Sen. Darline Graham, R-South Carolina, who now holds the seat of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, the very senator the law is named after.
“The president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, to get gas and diesel prices down, and the sanctions bill is one of the tools he can use to do that,” Graham said. “It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it. Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia to end the war and get the gas prices down.”
The Lindsey Graham Act also includes sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior military leaders, Russian financial institutions, and energy projects. It targets a “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used by Russia to circumvent previous sanctions, imposes tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, and expands sanctions against Iran.
Key buyers of Russian exports, including China and India, are also affected, per the bill.
The announcement comes a week after Trump revealed a deal allowing Russia to export diesel to the global market, though analysts say the deal will do little to lower global diesel prices.
Overall, fuel prices remain high. Gas prices have risen more than 34% year over year, according to the latest government inflation data.
The Get the Facts Data Team found that gas prices have risen sharply since the U.S. war with Iran that began in February.
You can find a gas gauge calculator that shows how many gallons of gas at current prices your money would buy in previous months and years here.
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