White House Defends Russia Sanctions Waiver to Aid Peace Talks

Enforcing new statutory sanctions against Russia at this juncture would impede US diplomatic efforts to negotiate a comprehensive peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv, according to the White House  

Speaking to Axios, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers defended US President Donald Trump’s decision to indefinitely suspend mandatory sanctions and import tariffs enacted under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.

Rogers stated that the statute equips the president with critical leverage in ongoing diplomatic consultations rather than serving as an immediate punitive instrument.

“President Trump has been clear that he wants to see this brutal war come to an end. As talks continue, this Act provides the president with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution,” Rogers said in an official statement.

“Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing US efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.”

Rogers stressed that the executive waiver does not permanently dismantle the statutory penalties, emphasizing that the administration retains the authority to invoke them whenever national security considerations warrant.

“The president retains the ability to exercise these authorities at any time if he determines that doing so would advance national interests,” Rogers added.

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Diplomatic leverage and the Section 115 waiver

The administration’s defense provides public justification for an executive order signed by Trump on Friday, Oct. 16, which waived sweeping statutory trade duties and secondary penalties just 48 hours before mandatory implementation was scheduled to begin on Sunday, Oct. 18.

In issuing the suspension, Trump invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act, which authorizes presidential waivers upon submitting formal certification to Congress that such actions align with US national interests.

While the formal certification was delivered to Capitol Hill on Friday, the White House had initially withheld specific details regarding the strategic rationale behind the determination.

The waived mechanisms represent some of the most punitive economic measures approved by Congress to date, including a mandatory 500 percent tariff on all Russian imports and 100 percent duties targeting the five largest global purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, such as China and India.

The statute also required retaliatory duties on third countries facilitating petroleum sanctions evasion and established trade actions against Moscow’s maritime “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

Pushback from Kyiv

The White House statement follows condemnation from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who characterized the executive waiver on Saturday as a grave policy miscalculation that directly aids the Russian military.

“Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue. I consider the diesel deal to be the first step,” Zelensky told reporters.

“It seems to me that it is impossible to stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in this way. On the contrary, he feels joy, happiness that he has such support... It definitely helps only the Russians. It definitely does not stop the war.”

Zelensky warned that pairing demands for Ukrainian military restraint with unilateral economic accommodations to Moscow only encourages the Kremlin to sustain long-range bombardments against Ukraine’s civilian power grid ahead of winter.

The waiver also drew bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill, where the Graham Act passed with veto-proof margins, including an 86-11 vote in the Senate.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the executive order “more than irresponsible,” while Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren accused the White House of bypassing the statutory will of Congress to offer unwarranted concessions to Putin.