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Trump defends waiving Russia sanctions, says it keeps Moscow at negotiating table President Trump defended his decision to waive Russian sanctions on Sunday, writing in a Truth Social post that it keeps Moscow at the negotiating table amid backlash from both sides of the aisle over the decision. “My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!” “Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want! Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way,” the president continued. Trump also bashed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to resume Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries, asserting that it is “seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States.” “Zelenskyy doesn’t care,” Trump stated, accusing the Ukrainian president of not wanting to end the Russia-Ukraine war which has stretched into its fourth year. “He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END,” the president concluded. The post marked another breaking point in relations between the world leaders as they both threw jabs at one another. Zelensky, recently, denounced Trump’s waiver of Russian sanctions, saying the legislative package “could have helped enormously.” The sanctions sought to put pressure on the Kremlin to end its military operations against Ukraine by imposing tariffs on top Russian energy purchasers and those who help the country evade sanctions. On Sunday, Zelensky stated in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press that Ukraine trusted Trump, adding that it would be “unbelievable” for the U.S. to support Russian President Vladimir Putin over him. In another interview with Newsmax’s “Finnerty, Trump reiterated his disdain for Zelensky, saying he was “not a good guy for us to deal with” and he was personally “not a big fan of Zelensky.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
document fetched 2026-10-19 03:00 · canonical https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6157113-donald-trump-defends-russia-sanctions-waiver