Trump says suspension of Russia sanctions is to keep peace negotiations going
US President Donald Trump has remarked his decision to suspend a number of Russian sanctions is an effort to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
US President Donald Trump has remarked his decision to suspend a number of Russian sanctions is an effort to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
Article outline
- What happened
- Why it matters
- Background
- The bottom line
Key points
- Zelensky informed NBC News on Sunday that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake".
- As a row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky deepened, trump blocked numerous sanctions on Russia two days before they were due to take effect.
- Relations between Washington and Kyiv frayed after the US struck a controversial accord to import Russian diesel last week.
"I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, " Trump remarked on his Truth Social messaging platform, adding that he didn't want to "do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table".
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev has responded to Trump's order by calling it "an important and truly historic moment", and saying the sanctions would have inflicted "serious damage" on the US and global market.
Trump additionally maintained in his Truth Social post that Zelensky "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did", adding "he could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now".
Since Russia rolled out its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, zelensky has pushed for an end to fighting, and has repeatedly remarked that Putin doesn't want peace.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv frayed after the US struck a controversial accord to import Russian diesel last week. Ukraine has accused the Trump administration of withdrawing key military backing.
After Trump remarked Zelensky was "more difficult to deal with" than Putin, since then, Zelensky declared it was nice to be among "real leaders" while addressing a European Union summit.
In short, trump says suspension of Russia sanctions is to keep peace negotiations going is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.
