Energy · Security · Diplomacy
Trump waives Graham Act Russia sanctions and energy tariffs as Zelensky seeks €70bn from EU
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 16 October waiving new sanctions and up to 100% energy tariffs on buyers of Russian oil and gas under the Lindsey Graham Act days before they were due to take effect (Reuters, BBC News, RT). The waiver followed Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak saying Washington had given Moscow a list of US companies ready to buy Russian diesel, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked EU leaders in Brussels for €70 billion (Vedomosti, France 24).
Moderate divergence
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Where they split
US, European and Qatari outlets tie the sanctions waiver to US midterm oil-price pressures and a deepening rift with Kyiv; Russian outlets cast it as a ‘historic moment’ replacing confrontation with economic dialogue.
The insight
Because South China Morning Post syndicates Associated Press copy and Dawn syndicates AFP copy, the wire-service framing of the waiver as a blow to Ukraine ahead of the US midterms runs across US, European and Asian publications. Inside the EU summit coverage, Euronews notes a split in Brussels as Bulgaria’s prime minister broke ranks to back the US–Russia diesel arrangement.
What every bloc agrees on
All covering blocs report that on 16 October US President Donald Trump issued an executive order citing US ‘national interests’ to waive key sanctions and tariffs against Russia under legislation sponsored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, which Trump had signed into law in September. Every bloc connects the waiver to the 9 October US–Russia diesel supply agreement and notes the sharpening public dispute between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as EU leaders met in Brussels.
The waiver and summit in figures
- 100%
- Maximum tariff on major buyers of Russian oil and gas waived under the law
- 500%
- Proposed tariff on imports from Russia waived by Trump (per RT)
- €70bn
- Additional 2027 funding Zelensky requested from EU leaders ($80bn)
- 4.8m t
- Staged Russian diesel exports cited: 300k, 500k, 1m and 3m tons (Vedomosti)
BBC News, RT and AFP (via Dawn) carry the 100% tariff figure on major buyers of Russian oil and gas; only RT carries the 500% tariff figure on Russian imports. Euronews and France 24 carry the €70 billion figure (France 24 and AFP via Dawn give the dollar equivalent as nearly $80 billion). Vedomosti carries the staged diesel export volumes of 300,000 tons, 500,000 tons, 1 million tons and an additional 3 million tons.
Coverage from 4 of 6 blocs: Europe 8 sources, Russia 4 sources, China not observed, Iran not observed, GCC & Arab 1 source, United States 1 source.
How each bloc frames it
Sources are grouped by where they are registered, owned and funded — not by editorial line.
United States 1 source
A pre-midterm move to curb oil prices that strains ties with Kyiv
Reuters (via Al-Monitor) and the Associated Press (via South China Morning Post) report that Trump invoked US ‘national interests’ on 16 October to pause the Lindsey Graham sanctions package days before it took effect. Reuters ties the waiver to Republican efforts to hold Congress in the November midterms as the US–Israeli war on Iran drives up fuel costs, while noting Trump’s warming toward Moscow and public criticism of Zelensky.
Associated Press
Europe 8 sources
Brussels closes ranks behind Zelensky as Washington pivots to Moscow
BBC News, France 24, AFP (via Dawn), Euronews, Deutsche Welle and the Financial Times frame the sanctions waiver and diesel deal as a US pivot toward Moscow that leaves Europe facing a €70 billion (nearly $80 billion) Ukrainian funding gap and a difficult winter. Euronews reports that EU leaders pledged to maintain sanctions and condemned the US–Russia diesel deal, with only Bulgaria’s prime minister breaking ranks to support it. Meduza relays Politico’s report that European leaders chose not to press a ‘desperate’ Zelensky to tone down his criticism of Trump.
Reuters · BBC News · AFP · Meduza · Euronews · Financial Times · Deutsche Welle · France 24
Russia 4 sources
A ‘historic moment’ shifting US–Russia ties from sanctions to energy cooperation
TASS and RBC lead with presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev calling the suspension of the ‘bone-crushing’ Graham Act a ‘truly historic moment’ that averts damage to the US economy and replaces confrontation with mutually beneficial dialogue. RT highlights that the waived law included 500% tariffs on Russian imports and 100% tariffs on major crude buyers China and India. Vedomosti reports Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak saying the US Energy Department passed Moscow a list of US companies ready to buy Russian diesel, with Russia set to export 50% of its diesel output.
RT · TASS · RBC · Vedomosti
GCC & Arab 1 source
Sanctions relief to ease energy prices widens the Trump–Zelensky rift
Al Jazeera reports that Trump waived additional Russia sanctions in a bid to ease energy prices. It notes that the executive order drew condemnation from Ukraine and EU allies and widened the rift between Trump and Zelensky.
Al Jazeera
Iran not observed
Not observed in our registry between 16 and 17 October.
No IRNA, Press TV, Tehran Times or Mehr News Agency article was found in the window.
China not observed
Not observed in our registry between 16 and 17 October.
No Global Times, CGTN, South China Morning Post or China Daily article was found in the window.
Outcomes
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What holds up, and what does not
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How it unfolded
- 11 JulUS Senator Lindsey Graham, sponsor of the Russia sanctions bill, dies (per BBC News).
- SeptemberTrump signs the Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions and tariffs bill into law.
- 9 OctTrump and Putin agree in a phone call on Russian diesel supplies to US and global markets.
- 15–16 OctEU leaders back Zelensky in Brussels and condemn the diesel deal; he asks for €70bn.
- 16 OctNovak says the US passed Moscow a list of diesel buyers; Trump waives Graham Act sanctions.
Where it is written, and where it lands
A US executive order waiving Russian energy sanctions reshapes fuel trade and war financing across Europe and Asia.
Waived in Washington, debated in Brussels and Moscow
Coverage — where it is written Fourteen articles come from outlets based in Russia (4), the United Kingdom (2), France (2), the United States (1), Qatar (1), Hong Kong (1), Pakistan (1), Germany (1) and Latvia (1).
Impact — where it lands The waiver directly affects the United States, Russia and Ukraine, while altering energy tariff exposure for China and India and war-financing demands on the European Union.
Sources on this topic
Wire copy is attributed to the originating agency and not counted twice.
Method
No Iranian-bloc outlet is present in this package despite the waived law being named by RT as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act and several outlets linking US oil price pressures to the war on Iran. Details of the closed-door EU leaders’ discussion on Zelensky’s remarks come via anonymous diplomatic sources cited by Politico and relayed by Meduza.