00:01U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving several sanctions on
00:07Russia that were supposed to come into effect on Sunday. The U.S. President told Congress
00:12the decision was in the national interest without further elaborating. Trump had signed the sanctions
00:18bill into law in September in an effort to put more pressure onto the Kremlin over its war in
00:23Ukraine. It targeted Russia's energy and defense forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin and
00:28other senior officials, major banks and Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers that are used
00:34to circumvent Western sanctions. The move comes amid increasing criticism from Trump of Ukrainian
00:42President Vladimir Zelensky over Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and the impact
00:47on high global fuel prices. Earlier this month, Trump agreed to a controversial deal with Putin
00:55to allow diesel exports. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have since been tense,
01:00with Zelensky as well as its European allies criticizing the move.
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