President Donald Trump blocked sanctions on Russia that Congress passed last month, saying the step protects peace talks with Moscow over Ukraine. In a Truth Social post, Trump stated he is negotiating an end to the war and does not want to drive Russia from the table. The executive order waives the Graham Act measures targeting Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions two days before they were due to take effect.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the action as a 60-day pause to study the sanctions' potential damage to US and global markets. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the decision an important historic moment that would have otherwise hurt those markets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned NBC News that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a historic mistake, while Trump said Zelensky does not want to end the war and could have secured a better deal two years ago.

The waiver follows a US agreement last week to import Russian diesel aimed at lowering gas prices. Russia continues exporting crude to China, which takes about half its shipments, and India, which takes about 37 percent, despite earlier sanctions. The Graham Act also gave the president extra tariff powers over countries trading with Russia, but Trump has not applied them in this order.