The bargaining-table rationale

President Donald Trump spent Sunday making the case that his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia was about one thing only: keeping the peace process alive. In a Truth Social statement, he said he was in the middle of negotiating an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine and did not want any step that would push Moscow out of the talks.

His argument also rested on progress he says the negotiations are showing. He claimed momentum in the discussions, including talks over hostages.

The unclear document

At the center of his post was a warning about a document he says could scare Russia off. Trump wrote that signing it now would do exactly that, and that he could sign it later, or any time he wanted.

He did not say which document he was referring to, and the White House did not immediately respond when asked for clarity.

Iran factor and refinery accusations

The statement also touched on Iran and on Ukrainian strikes against Russian energy targets, both attributed to Trump rather than independently confirmed:

• •He said Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help Iran compared to what it could be doing, and that he wanted to keep it that way.
• •He accused Ukraine of purposefully targeting Russian refineries to hurt the Republican Party in the November 3 election.
• •He charged that Zelensky is using Russian diesel refineries as targets, knowing the attacks are seriously hurting world diesel markets, including those in the United States.

The relief he signed

The defense follows two decisions from late last week. Trump signed an executive order late Friday waiving broad new sanctions mandated by legislation named for the late US senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine's defense.

Separately, he temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities into global markets in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of US elections early next month.

That diesel decision was met with shock by Kyiv and its allies and sparked a feud between Trump and Zelensky. The president struck back at the Ukrainian leader in his Sunday statement, claiming Zelensky does not want to end the war "with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past."

The political backdrop is difficult for Trump's party: polling shows it heading for a likely defeat, with many voters upset by fuel costs that have soared since the Iran war began in late February.

The White House did not immediately respond when asked for clarity on which document Trump meant.