Trump waives Russia sanctions days before they were due as pressure on Zelenskyy grows

Just days before a raft of new U.S. sanctions targeting Russia's economy was due to kick in, Donald Trump hit pause. He issued an executive order waiving the restrictions and duties in the so-called Graham Act because he said it was in the national interests of the United States. I've always been a very good dealmaker. I became very rich because of deals. It halts legislation formulated by the late Russia hawk, Senator Lindsey Graham. That sanctions banks, Kremlin officials, and a shadow fleet of oil tankers. I think you heard about the oil deal with Russia. That is a big deal. The waiver comes off the back of Trump's recent announcement that the U.S. is buying Russian diesel as part of efforts to ease global energy prices. That announcement upended years of economic pressure from Washington after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders have condemned the deal. We are trying to convince also our American partners that if we want to end this war, then we have to squeeze the aggressor. Increasingly, Trump is framing the Ukrainian president as the stumbling block to peace. Zelensky could have settled this war many times, many, many times. and he chooses not to. And I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president. The relationship between the two has evolved since they met seven years ago. You're in no position to dictate what we're going to feel. Trump's infamous Oval Office dressing down of Zelensky early last year was a low point. You're gambling with World War III. And Zelensky has walked a diplomatic tightrope, keeping Trump on side while inching closer to EU allies. With the US midterm elections just weeks away President Trump is under pressure at home over the war in Iran and soaring energy costs. Diesel prices in the US are very high and the war that he started in the Middle East is not going the way he wants it. Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems? This is my answer. Thank you so much. Thank you. Michael Lappel, Al Jazeera for Inside Story.