Kremlin Denies Considering Prisoner Releases for Sanctions Relief

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Key takeaways

The Atlantic reported that a US envoy proposed trading sanctions relief for political prisoners.
The Kremlin categorically denied that any such scheme or topic was discussed.
Past prisoner exchanges have involved high-profile individuals detained in Russia and the US.

On Tuesday, The Atlantic reported that John Coale, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, several months ago proposed to put forward a strategy that would seek the release of Russian political prisoners in exchange for the easing of sanctions and the resumption of economic ties with Moscow, in advance of ending the war in Ukraine.

Coale suggested that a similar approach had worked in negotiations with Minsk that saw “hundreds” of political prisoners being released in exchange for Belarusian potash.

The report said Trump was enthusiastic as, although the plan was in its early stages, it offered the opportunity to improve relations with Moscow by focusing on business and economics rather than the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin’s response

In response to the reports, Moscow has categorically denied the existence of such a scheme. On Wednesday, according to state media outlet Interfax, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said:

“This topic was not discussed, and could not have been discussed, because we categorically deny the existence of any political prisoners, and we believe that such a framing of the issue is absolutely inappropriate.”

In response to questions about previous prisoner exchanges Peskov added: “Our security services continue to maintain regular contacts on this matter.” He then went on to add that the issue of easing sanctions in exchange for the release of other prisoners was not being discussed with the US.

In February 2025, US national Marc Fogel, convicted of drug smuggling, was exchanged for Alexander Vinnik, who was accused of laundering billions of dollars in Bitcoin.

The following April, Ksenia Karelina, convicted of donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity, was exchanged for Artur Petrov, who was accused of smuggling microelectronics to Russia.

In August 2026, former US Marine Robert Gilman, who had been in custody since 2022, was released on “humanitarian grounds,” following a direct intervention by Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Make money not war

In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that during October bilateral negotiations in Miami between the US and Russia, much of the discussion focused on ways to revive Russian business in return for giving US companies priority access to $300 billion of Russian central bank funds, currently frozen and held in Europe.

According to the Atlantic, Coale’s plan would see the restoration of economic ties with Russia involving business deals with Moscow centered on oil, diesel fuel, and rare earth minerals – subjects that have been regularly featured in many of Trump’s media appearances.

This approach, which the US claims would be a steppingstone to peace in Ukraine would be totally unacceptable to Kyiv, its European partners, and some American lawmakers.

Restoring economic ties with Russia would generate additional revenue for Moscow that would be used to continue its war against Ukraine or launch attacks on NATO.

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