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Trump Reviews Lifting Sanctions on Russian Fund
Confirmed
In Short: The Trump administration is reportedly reviewing a request to lift sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a move that could ease economic pressure on Russia.
The Trump administration is reportedly reviewing a request to lift sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a move that could ease economic pressure on Russia.
According to the Kyiv Post, the RDIF, led by Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, was sanctioned by the former Biden administration in February 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department is currently reviewing the fund’s application for delisting through its standard procedures, an unnamed US official confirmed to the Kyiv Post.
The RDIF has offered to handle transactions between Russian sellers and American buyers while pushing for its removal from the sanctions list.
The review comes just weeks after Trump signed a sanctions package targeting Russia's energy sector.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies have criticized the move, viewing it as an investment in prolonging the war.
Eric Green, who oversaw Russia policy under Biden, told the New York Times that lifting the sanctions would signal Washington's abandonment of economic pressure on Moscow.
Zelenskyy called the potential lifting of sanctions a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that it could prolong the war.
The RDIF, described as a slush fund for Putin, was sanctioned as part of broader efforts to isolate Russia economically.
The fund must prove that the circumstances leading to the imposition of sanctions no longer exist to have the restrictions lifted.
According to Kyivindependent, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia would supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global market immediately, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons shortly thereafter.
Ynetnews reported that Trump announced a deal for over 4.8 million tons of Russian diesel despite sanctions.
What this adds
The review of sanctions on the RDIF comes amid ongoing discussions between Russia and the US regarding the future of sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil’s overseas assets, valued at approximately $22 billion.
What's confirmed
- The Trump administration is considering lifting sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), on which the former Biden administration imposed sanctions in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
What's still developing
- On that same day, Moscow revealed that Russia and the US are discussing the future of sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil’s overseas assets, valued at approximately $22 billion.
- No final decision on lifting the restrictions has been made yet.
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