Trump’s Russia sanctions suspension aims to keep peace negotiations going
Sanctions halted before taking effect
Trump blocked numerous sanctions against Russia on Friday night, shortly before they were scheduled to begin. He said the decision was meant to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
Dispute with Kyiv deepens
In a Truth Social post, Trump accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war, and said Ukraine’s president could have secured a better deal two years ago. Relations between Washington and Kyiv had already frayed over a controversial US deal to import Russian diesel.
At an EU summit, Zelensky said it was good to be among “real leaders”. Trump had said Zelensky was more difficult to deal with than Putin. Zelensky also described the diesel deal as equivalent to the US investing in Russia’s war effort.
Zelensky warns of further easing
Zelensky has repeatedly called for tougher sanctions to restrict funding for Russia’s war effort. Following Trump’s latest decision, he said he believed the administration would remove additional sanctions on Russia.
Zelensky said US officials had connected speed restrictions to technical issues. Trump denied deliberately slowing the network and rejected Zelensky’s claim that the US had stopped sharing defence intelligence.
Key points
- Trump suspended several Russia sanctions shortly before they were due to take effect.
- He said the move was intended to keep Moscow engaged in negotiations.
- Zelensky argued that easing sanctions could support Russia’s war effort.
- The decision came amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv.