Russia hails Trump waiving sanctions as 'historic'

It's a sharp 180 turn just days before US sanctions on Russia's energy sector were set to hit. After a year-long fight by the late Senator Lindsey Graham to pass a sanctions bill targeting Russia's economy, the US president waived it after signing it into law just last month. In an executive order, he claimed the decision was in the national interest. The legislation would have allowed the US to impose up to 100% tariffs on all goods from the top buyers of Russian oil and gas, like China and India. The announcement drew immediate backlash from a group of senators who released a statement slamming the decision and questioning its legality. The reversal follows a US warming toward Moscow, with the recent diesel deal struck between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and a souring of relations with President Zelensky, all just weeks before the midterms as Republicans fear the sanctions would expose Americans to oil price spikes. The decision was hailed as a historic moment by President Putin's special envoy as Moscow hosts Russian Energy Week. VLADIMIR PUTIN, President of the United States, restrictions on diesel fuel imports have been partially lifted with current volumes of 500,000 tons. We intend to increase this further throughout November and December, aiming to reach the levels we previously supplied to global markets. That's approximately 3.5 million tons per month by the end of the year." Moscow also claims that several joint U.S.-Russia initiatives are in the making and could be launched before the end of the war in Ukraine.