If Trump Lifts Sanctions on Russia, What Would It Mean?
The possibility of sanctions being eased and an end to the war in Ukraine has some Western businesses and investors eying opportunities in Russia
Photographer: Photo illustration by 731. Photos: Getty Images
The US and its allies imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, in an attempt to slow Moscow’s war machine. As President Donald Trump seeks to negotiate an end to the conflict, his administration has both hinted at an easing of those restrictions and threatened new measures to speed things along.
It’s hard to tell whether Trump would actually follow through on toughening up sanctions. In one day alone, he said he was “very angry” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned that buyers of Russian oil could be hit with so-called secondary tariffs if Russia obstructs a peace agreement — only to soften his tone hours later, saying he didn’t think that Putin would “go back on his word.”