US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to suspend several sanctions against Russia, saying the move is intended to keep Moscow at the negotiating table as efforts continue to end the war in Ukraine, according to the BBC.
“I am in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that he did not want to do anything that would “foolishly” drive Russia away from negotiations.
Trump blocked several sanctions against Russia on Friday night, just two days before they were due to take effect, amid growing tensions between Washington and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a “historic mistake”.
Russia’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, welcomed Trump’s decision, describing it as “an important and truly historic moment”. He argued that the sanctions, passed by the US Congress and signed into law by the president in September, would have inflicted “serious damage” on the US and global markets.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the decision as a 60-day pause, during which officials would assess the potential impact of the sanctions on the US and global economies.
Trump also accused Zelensky of being unwilling to end the war, writing on Truth Social that the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did”.
He added that Zelensky could have secured a better deal two years ago than he could obtain under the current circumstances.
However, Zelensky has repeatedly called for an end to the fighting and maintained that Putin is not genuinely interested in peace since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have deteriorated further following a controversial US deal to import Russian diesel, announced last week.
Despite international sanctions, Russia has continued exporting oil, much of it to China and India, often at discounted prices. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think-tank, China accounts for about half of Russia’s crude oil exports, while India takes approximately 37 per cent.
Speaking at a European Union summit, Zelensky criticised Washington’s approach after Trump announced the diesel deal and described the Ukrainian president as more difficult to deal with than Putin.
Zelensky said it was good to be among “real leaders”, in remarks widely interpreted as a criticism of Trump’s position.
The Ukrainian president has consistently pushed for tougher sanctions to restrict Moscow’s ability to finance its military campaign. Following Trump’s latest decision, Zelensky expressed concern that the US administration could lift additional sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies have also criticised the plan to import Russian diesel, which Trump has said would help reduce US energy prices that have surged during the war involving Iran.
Zelensky argued that the arrangement amounted to the US investing in Russia’s war effort by providing Moscow with another source of revenue.
Concerns over Washington’s position have also intensified following disruptions to Starlink, the US-provided satellite internet system used by Ukrainian forces. The disruption reportedly hampered Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.
Zelensky said US officials attributed the speed restrictions to technical issues. However, he claimed Ukraine had tested Starlink on European Union territory and found that it operated at higher speeds.
Trump has denied deliberately slowing down the satellite network and rejected a separate accusation from Zelensky that Washington had stopped sharing defence intelligence with Kyiv.
The sanctions pause and the dispute over Russian energy imports have added to tensions between Washington and Kyiv, raising further questions about the US approach to negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.