Overview
- Trump’s Feb. 19 order continues the national emergency first declared under Executive Order 13660 and states Russia’s actions still pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
- The extension keeps in force asset freezes and other restrictions created in 2014 and broadened in 2018 and 2022, including measures added after Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- The White House notice says the restrictions must remain beyond March 6, 2026, maintaining the existing legal framework for sanctions enforcement.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the U.S. move a fairly automatic decision and said talks with Washington continue through a difficult, lengthy process.
- Russian officials said recent Geneva meetings led by Kirill Dmitriev included agreement to form a bilateral economic working group, and Dmitriev has claimed lifting sanctions could unlock more than $14 trillion in joint projects and has cost U.S. businesses over $300 billion.