Putin envoy calls Trump's move to block Russia sanctions 'historic'

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Saturday lauded Trump's decision to block sanctions on Russia as a truly “historic moment”, and it serves the interests of both Russia and the United States. He claimed that sanctioning Russia will hurt the US more, and said that most countries have not joined in sanctioning Russia because they know it hurts economic prosperity. He claimed that “the US-Russia economic dialogue and peacemaking efforts will continue”.

“The suspension of some of the provisions of the Graham Act marks an important and truly historic moment,” wrote Dmitriev in a post on the Social media platform X.

“Economic cooperation between Russia and the United States serves the interests of both nations, contributes to global economic stability, and lays the foundation for building trust and achieving lasting peace.”

The executive order, signed on Friday night by the US President Donald Trump, leverages a national interest waiver to bypass restrictions originally designed to penalise Moscow under the Graham Act.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the decision to block sanctions is “financial rewards” for Putin and will "encourage him to keep striking".

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“Russia is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine right before winter. Russia is trying to leave millions of our people without electricity and heating. Pressure is needed to stop this. An American sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin—these things only encourage him to keep striking. We must not yield our positions and must strive to end the war. End it, not give Putin every reason to prolong it endlessly," said Zelensky.

The decision comes amid a spat between Zelensky and Trump after the announcement of a deal allowing Moscow to export large amounts of diesel to drop high US fuel costs; Zelensky labelled it a "weak decision by strong partners". Trump also publicly complained that Zelensky is "more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin," and may be Ukraine needs "a new leader" who actually knows how to make a deal. Zelensky took a jab at Trump while attending an EU summit in Brussels, stating pointedly that it was nice to be among “real leaders”.