After Russia’s Reprieve From U.S. Sanctions, Trump Administration Tells Europe To Step Up, Quit Playing Both Sides

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lambasted European allies on Sunday, saying their decision to purchase diesel from Russia in the midst of Russia’s war with Ukraine left the United States little choice but to foreclose on its implementation of new sanctions approved by Congress and signed into law by President Trump just last month. Speaking during an appearance on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Mr. Bessent said the onus should be on the Europeans to step up support for Ukraine and to wean themselves off of Russian energy supplies. He says it is only fair that America get access to Russia’s energy markets in the meantime. “The Europeans have given Russia and Vladimir Putin more money than they’ve given the Ukrainians. They continue to gorge on Russian energy,” Mr. Bessent said. He argued that because Europe would not go along with additional tariffs on China and India, America should be getting more out of the U.S.–Eurozone relationship. “Why should the U.S. bear the burden?” he asked. “I will point out, the U.K. in May waived their embargo on diesel and jet fuel made with Russian crude,” he continued. “Where’s the outrage for the rest of the world? … President Zelensky does not criticize his European partners.” He also attacked European countries for not sending Ukraine more Patriot missiles. President Trump also defended his decision Sunday to freeze new sanctions on Russia as outlined in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 — legislation that was finalized by the senator just hours before his death in July. The bill passed both Houses of Congress by wide bipartisan majorities and was signed by Mr. Trump in September. Saying Russia is not behaving as badly as it could be, and he wants to keep it that way, Mr. Trump said he’s still looking for a solution for the war between Russia and Ukraine, though it may not look like the one Europeans and Ukrainians visualize.“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,” he wrote, adding of the pause, “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.”Under the law, Mr. Trump has the power to waive myriad new sanctions which are meant to target Russian government officials, oligarchs, and corporations. In an executive order Friday night, Mr. Trump wrote that it was in the “national interests” of the United States to stop the sanctions from taking effect. The sanctions were due to be imposed Sunday. Mr. Trump’s pause on the sanctions can last up to 60 days, according to the law named for Graham. Asked about Mr. Zelensky’s allegation that someone in the American government ordered the slowdown of the use of Starshield — SpaceX’s military version of the civilian satellite network Starlink — Mr. Bessent attacked Mr. Zelensky for what he called “reckless” allegations. Mr. Bessent reasserted that Russia and Ukraine will not return to their pre-war status quo, and that Mr. Zelensky must accept “some kind of a negotiated settlement.”Speaking on the same show as Mr. Bessent, Mr. Zelensky said he is not backing down against Russia because Ukraine was not the aggressor in the war that began in February 2022. He added that while “we want to trust” the United States as a negotiator and peacemaker, doing Mr. Putin any favors will only hurt his country.“I can’t applause any decisions or any words of one or another leader if they go against Ukraine, if they are supportive for Russia, and directly for Putin. He’s a killer,” Mr. Zelensky said, adding that without U.S. support, Ukraine will not prevail. “Maybe it’s not very polite, and maybe not the things what the president of the United States wants from me. But I’m better to have partners who are very open and clear than to have those who are killers, even with a smile on their face.”In his lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday. Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Zelensky for “seriously hurting the world diesel markets” with strikes on Russian refineries. “[H]e doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” Mr. Trump wrote of the Ukrainian president. “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!”As the president’s approval ratings on the issue of inflation and the cost of living hit historic lows just weeks before the 2024 midterm elections, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that Russian diesel imports will help lower costs for American families.“The world is short of diesel and President Trump is relentlessly looking for ways to bring cost relief to Americans,” Mr. Wright during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “If Russia can bring additional diesel to the market and export it, it would benefit American consumers. It would benefit the world.” He argued that the diesel export and the sanctions relief may help ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine to the point where the two countries will stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. “Clearly, rational conversation — dialogues — have not worked,” Mr. Wright said, saying that the delay of sanctions will allow a window to find a path for peace. “There’s a lot of moving parts in this conflict right now,” he continued, stating that Mr. Trump will impose the sanctions at the “appropriate time.”Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are unlikely to accept the administration’s defenses of Mr. Trump’s actions. Days after the deal on diesel imports was announced on October 9, 12 bipartisan senators wrote a letter to Mr. Trump demanding that he reverse course. “Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war,” the lawmakers wrote. “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded.”The Institute for the Study of War added that Mr. Trump’s attempts to lower global diesel prices by increasing the Russian oil supply does not correlate to Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s refineries. Trump’s October 16 Executive Order does not support Trump’s “stated foreign policy objectives of ending the war in Ukraine and will only enable Russia to continue financing and protracting the war in Ukraine without any proper incentives that may force Russia to engage in any meaningful peace negotiations,” it said.While the sanctions are held in abeyance and the United States begins importing Russian diesel, other nations are also taking advantage of the pause. Turkey’s energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, also said it will receive some of the diesel being released to global markets.

After Russia’s Reprieve From U.S. Sanctions, Trump Administration Tells Europe To Step Up, Quit Playing Both Sides

After Russia’s Reprieve From U.S. Sanctions, Trump Administration Tells Europe To Step Up, Quit Playing Both Sides

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