Trump Hits Pause on Russia Sanctions—Peace Talks or Political Poker?

In a move that’s either diplomatic genius or geopolitical gambit, the former president delays new sanctions against Russia. The stated reason? To avoid derailing potential peace talks with Putin. Because nothing says ’diplomatic breakthrough’ like withholding economic consequences.

Wall Street shrugs—after all, uncertainty is just another trading opportunity. Meanwhile, crypto markets barely flinch; decentralized assets don’t wait for political theatrics to price in volatility.

Funny how ’strategic patience’ always seems to benefit the oligarchs—both in Moscow and Manhattan.

Trump says this isn’t his war and blames Biden, Zelensky and Putin

According to reporting from Bloomberg, Trump’s comments followed Russia’s largest drone and missile assault on Ukraine since the conflict began. He had warned Putin days earlier that he was “playing with fire,” but has now pulled back on immediate retaliation.

In a post on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump claimed his involvement is the only reason things haven’t spiraled further. “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things WOULD have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” he wrote.

Trump also tried to distance himself from the entire conflict. “This isn’t my war,” he said. “This is Joe Biden’s war, Volodymyr Zelensky’s war, and Putin’s war. This isn’t Trump’s war.” Though so far, Trump’s own administration has not secured any agreement from Putin on a cease-fire or troop withdrawal.

While Trump avoided giving any specifics on what happens if Putin continues attacks, he redirected the conversation to Iran and Gaza when pressed on the topic. “We’re not happy about that situation,” he said. “I think we’re doing very well with Iran. We’re doing very well with Gaza.”

Trump also confirmed that his team is engaged in “very good talks” with Iran over its nuclear program, a standoff that’s lasted more than twenty years. “We’ll find out whether that means anything,” he said, when asked if an agreement was near. 

US officials believe Iran is now just a few months away from being able to build a nuclear weapon. Iranian leaders have said they might scale back the program, but only if the US agrees to remove sanctions that have strangled their economy.

Trump said an agreement could be coming together. “They still have to agree to the final stages of a document,” he said, “but I think you could be very well surprised what happens there, and it’d be a great thing for them.”

He also shared that he personally asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to take any military action that could interfere with ongoing Iran negotiations. “To be honest, yes, I did,” Trump admitted during the briefing.

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