
Shortly before it came into force, US President Donald Trump put a package of sanctions against Russia on hold, which met with sharp criticism from across parties.
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The sanctions package was passed on a bipartisan basis following the death of Senator Lindsey Graham. It aimed to put pressure on the Kremlin in the Ukraine war through far-reaching punitive measures.
Republican members of Congress have also strongly condemned US President Donald Trump's suspension of new sanctions against Russia. "More than irresponsible," wrote Republican Senator Thom Tillis on Platform
The Republican member of the House of Representatives, Don Bacon, criticized on X that Trump was prolonging Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine instead of ending it. His party colleague, Senator John Cornyn, shared an article about Trump's measure and wrote: "Lindsey would be horrified." The US President signed a sanctions package against Russia almost a month ago that bears the name of the senator and Trump confidant Lindsey Graham, who died in July.
Graham played a key role in pushing the law forward - after his death it found a bipartisan majority in Congress. The aim of the law was to put more pressure on the Kremlin in the Ukraine war with new, far-reaching punitive measures. But Trump put the tariffs on hold shortly before they came into force. The drastic punitive measures are suspended until further notice, according to a decree published on Friday. Trump's reasoning: This is currently "in the national interest" of the USA.
There was also sharp criticism of the suspension of sanctions from the Democrats. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was a strong supporter of the law, wrote on X that the suspension had nothing to do with U.S. national security. Its sole purpose is to ingratiate itself with Putin.
Trump is once again confirming that he is on the side of a bloodthirsty criminal and supporter of the Russian war machine, he complained. Trump is acting against the majority of Americans, their representatives in both chambers of Congress and against the US's European allies.

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