US President Donald Trump has put on hold a sweeping package of sanctions on Russia that he signed into law last month, telling Congress the pause is in the national interest.
Trump signed an executive order on Friday, two days before a deadline in the law that would have put the measures into effect.
The bipartisan legislation, named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly in July after returning from Ukraine, had passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate by large margins. It was drafted by Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
The law sought to starve Moscow of funds for its war in Ukraine by sanctioning Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers carrying its energy. It also directed the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five biggest importers of Russian oil or gas, with limited exceptions for countries taking steps to reduce imports.
The decision to suspend the sanctions comes a week after Trump said the United States had signed a deal to buy diesel from Russia in an effort to lower global fuel prices.
Both Republicans and Democrats criticised the diesel agreement, saying it would help Russia’s war effort without affecting fuel prices.
Democratic Representative Don Beyer said he and others had “warned” that Trump might take such a step, referring to the deal with Moscow. Beyer called on Congress to “fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine.”
Trump has also increasingly criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to reach a deal with Russia.
