US President Donald Trump has defended the suspension of the Russia sanctions against criticism – including from within the ranks of his Republicans. He is negotiating a peace in the Ukraine war and wants to „do nothing that would foolishly drive Russia away from the negotiating table“, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social, according to n-tv.de. On Friday, 16 October, he had still justified the step with a US national security interest.
In the post, Trump spoke of „major progress“ in the talks without giving details. He also mentioned negotiations over „hostages“, by which he likely meant prisoners of the two warring parties. The US government sees itself as a mediator in the war; a breakthrough towards ending the war is not yet in sight.
A decree two days before it takes effect
The sanctions package bears the name of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died in July and had been a key driver behind it. In mid-September, Congress passed it with a bipartisan majority, and shortly afterwards Trump signed it. According to zdfheute.de, the law provided that the tariffs and sanctions enshrined in it would automatically take effect 30 days after signing – unless the president decides otherwise. On Friday, Trump put the punitive measures on ice by decree, two days before they were due to take effect. They are therefore suspended until further notice.
The law would have authorised Trump, among other things, to impose sanctions on the five largest buyers of Russian energy sources, as well as on the five countries that most help Russia circumvent energy sanctions. It could thus have burdened US trade relations with China and India, which purchase large quantities of Russian crude oil.
„Completely irresponsible“ – criticism from his own party
The step met with resistance within his own party. „This is completely irresponsible,“ Republican Senator Thom Tillis said on Saturday, 17 October, according to orf.at. „If the president really wants to lower energy prices, he can do so by solving the Iran issue – not by doing favours for Vladimir Putin.“ Senator Ted Cruz called the move a „mistake“, Representative Michael McCaul demanded „a reversal“. Representative Don Bacon criticised that Trump was prolonging Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine instead of ending it. Senator John Cornyn shared an article about Trump’s measure on X and wrote: „Lindsey would be horrified.“
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US of „rewarding“ Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and „encouraging“ further attacks. On Telegram, he said, according to zdfheute.de: „Russia is trying to bring about a blackout in Ukraine just before winter.“ Pressure was needed to stop this. Trump could put the law back into force, „but it really must take effect“.
The Kremlin reacted with delight. The suspension of the Graham law was an „important and truly historic moment“, Putin’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on social networks. The sanctions had caused „serious damage“ to the US economy and global markets.
The diesel deal as a political success for Moscow?
The step is also rooted in the dispute over fuel prices. According to zdfheute.de, about a week and a half ago Trump announced that Russia would immediately make more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel available to the US and the world market; existing sanctions were suspended for this purpose. The Russian government partially lifted its export ban on diesel fuel. According to n-tv.de, there are now reports of initial diesel exports from Russia, but the exact volume is unclear.
Fuel prices in the US had risen sharply as a result of the Iran war. Before the congressional elections in early November, this puts Trump under pressure. According to analysts, the sanctions could have driven prices up further and scared off voters from his party, mdr.de reports. Political scientist Hanna Notte considers the diesel deal with Putin a political success for Russia. Geopolitics expert Klemens Fischer of the University of Cologne said on Deutschlandfunk that for Ukraine this was „guaranteed to be the darkest moment in this war so far“.
Trump, in turn, accuses Zelensky of not wanting to end the war. At the same time, he again expressed annoyance about Ukrainian attacks on Russian diesel refineries, for which he has held the Ukrainian government responsible for weeks. Observers see this as an attempt to distract from the consequences of the Iran war.
Meanwhile, the „Wall Street Journal“ reported, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Putin had proposed a summit meeting with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Kremlin had proposed the dialogue on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit (Apec) on 18 and 19 November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the newspaper that a possible meeting was being discussed: „There are still no clear ideas about the meeting itself or its possible agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility that such a meeting could take place“.
Editorial assessment: Trump is tying the Ukraine question to his domestic policy – to fuel prices, elections and the Iran war. For Kyiv, this means that the pressure on its most important financial backer will not ease, while Moscow plays for time. Whether the sanctions package ever takes effect depends solely on Trump’s signature.
