Trump's signature that pleased the Kremlin

Trump suspended the relevant provisions of the law, which called for sanctions against the Russian government and state companies and imposing tariffs on countries importing energy from Russia, two days before it came into force.

The Lindsey Graham Act, which he signed on September 18, targeted Russia's energy and defense sectors, its senior officials, and its "shadow fleet" of oil tankers that it used to circumvent Western sanctions. The law also paved the way for the imposition of tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries importing Russian oil and natural gas. Trump defended his decision by citing the "national interests" of the United States, but did not explain in detail why he suspended the sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski described the decision as "unfortunate" and said that sanctions could put effective pressure on Russia to end the war. "Relieving pressure on the attacker and giving financial rewards to Putin, all this encourages him to continue attacking," Zelenski said. Zelenski noted that he thought the United States would lift more sanctions against Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriyev welcomed the decision. In his social media post, Dmitriyev described the suspension of sanctions as “an important and truly historic moment.”