Trump waives several Russia sanctions as new US law takes effect
Trump says parts of a new law that aims to punish Moscow for its war against Ukraine are against US national interests.
Trump waives several Russia sanctions as new US law takes effect
US President Donald Trump has invoked his presidential powers to block a number of sanctions on Russia that were recently approved by the US Congress in an effort to punish the country for its war on Ukraine.
In an executive order on Friday night, Trump said it was in the US "national interests" to withhold some of the sanctions. Trump signed the sanctions bill into law in September, and it was set to take effect on Sunday.
The move comes days after Trump said the US would import Russian diesel in an effort to lower US energy prices ahead of the midterm elections in November, which will determine which party controls Congress.
The plan stunned lawmakers and has sparked a bipartisan backlash.
The US sanctions law is named after the late Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who was one of Ukraine's strongest defenders in Washington before his death on 11 July.
The law targeted Russia's economy and gave Trump broad authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas – most notably China and India.
In addition, the law contains sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior figures in the Russian government, as well as banks and other financial institutions and Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers used to evade existing sanctions.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of 20 US lawmakers sent a letter urging Trump to honor the new law, which is due to take effect on 18 October.
The lawmakers thanked Trump for signing the sanctions bill and called for his "full and faithful implementation" of the law.
They said it would be "decisive in forcing Putin to take peace talks seriously" and urged the Trump administration "to apply the Graham law's sanctions to their fullest extent and without delay".
Last week, Trump said he had spoken by phone with Putin and had agreed to buy diesel from Moscow.
US allies criticized the decision, worried that it could aid Russia's war effort.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the deal as a gift to Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended".