Moscow describes Trump's exemption from sanctions on Russia as a "historic moment"

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On Saturday, Moscow described US President Donald Trump's decision to exempt Russia from sanctions and customs duties as an "important historical moment."

This comment came from a Russian presidential envoy, as Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, stated on social media that “the Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is a truly important and historic moment,” hours after Trump signed an executive order suspending new sanctions on Moscow in light of tension in relations with the Ukrainian leadership.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the implementation of a package of sanctions and customs duties imposed on Russia under a law passed by Congress and signed last month, justifying the move as serving the “national interest” of the United States.

The executive order stipulated the suspension of the application of the sanctions, restrictions, and fees contained in what is known as the Lindsey Graham Act, which was aimed at tightening the stranglehold on the financial resources that finance the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump said in the executive order that he had provided Congress with certification that issuing this exemption at this time “serves the national interests of the United States.”

The law, which bears the name of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, stipulates the imposition of customs duties of up to 100 percent within 30 days on goods imported into the United States from the five largest countries importing Russian crude oil or gas. It also targets countries that buy Russian oil or gas or help Moscow evade sanctions.

The law targets the Russian energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as the so-called “shadow fleet” of Russian oil tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Trump signed the Lindsey Graham Punishment of Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in mid-September, before issuing the current exemption days before a number of its measures took effect.