Trump backs easing Russia sanctions in exchange for prisoner release, Atlantic reports
The White House and Treasury have not confirmed the report, and Trump has reversed similar sanctions offers before
Published
Trump has told advisers he supports easing sanctions on Russia if Moscow releases prisoners, the Atlantic reported. Neither the White House nor the Treasury has confirmed the account.
The pattern is familiar. Trump said this week that he did not offer sanctions relief to Iran, contradicting earlier reports that he had. Before that, a White House official told CNN that Trump was open to easing Iran sanctions in exchange for nuclear progress, a US official told CNN the same, and Axios reported that Trump had offered Iran economic relief, including unfreezing Iranian assets, for nuclear concessions. Each account came before Trump's own denial.
The Russia report lands against a tense backdrop. The Kremlin has said its orders asserting oversight over foreign assets in Russia are tied to increased military action by unfriendly countries, not to seizing ownership. Lavrov has said Europe is waging war against Russia, as European governments weigh a joint response to sabotage and cyber attacks they blame on Moscow. Zelenskiy has said Russia struck two foreign-flagged ships near Odesa.
The prisoner-release condition is narrower and more achievable than the nuclear concessions attached to the Iran proposals, and it fits the same sanctions-for-concession approach Trump has floated repeatedly in recent days. If confirmed, it would mark fresh momentum for the Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire track already in place since mid-September, rather than a new diplomatic front, and would be modestly supportive for risk assets and energy prices tied to Russian supply. Given how often these offers have surfaced and then been walked back, traders are likely to treat it as a signal of direction rather than a settled policy shift until the White House or Treasury confirms it.