Trump Halts Russia Sanctions to Keep Peace Talks Alive

US President Donald Trump has blocked multiple planned penalties against Russia. He stated the move aims to keep peace discussions moving forward between Moscow and Kyiv.

Trump halted the measures on Friday night. The penalties were scheduled to take effect just two days later. The decision came amid a sharp diplomatic dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump defended the move. "I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine," Trump wrote. He stated he did not want to "do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the operational details of the pause. He described the decision as a 60-day pause. Officials will use this window to review how the penalties might affect US and international markets.

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the action from Washington. He called Trump's decision "an important and truly historic moment." Dmitriev argued that the proposed sanctions would have caused serious harm to the global economy.

Despite Western measures since 2022, Russia continues to move energy products abroad. Research from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air shows China bought roughly half of Russia's crude exports. India took another 37 percent.

Tensions between Washington and Kyiv escalated following a recent US agreement to purchase Russian diesel. Ukraine and European Union partners condemned the arrangement. Zelensky described buying Russian fuel as helping fund Moscow'It was military actions.

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Trump claimed on Truth Social that Zelensky "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did." He added that Zelensky "could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now." Trump also noted that Zelensky was "more difficult to deal with" than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky addressed an EU leaders' summit in Brussels shortly after the remarks. He pointedly told European leaders that it felt good to stand among "real leaders." In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Zelensky warned that backing Putin would represent a "historic mistake."

Zelensky also raised alarms over slowdowns affecting the Starlink satellite network in Ukraine. Kyiv relies on the system for frontline defense against ongoing Russian attacks. US officials cited technical problems for the speed drops, but Trump rejected claims that Washington intentionally throttled access or cut intelligence sharing.