Kremlin Rejects US Sanctions Relief Offer for Freeing Political Prisoners in Russia
POLITICS · RUSSIA
Key Facts
- —The country Russia, under broad US and European sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Moscow and Washington still keep an intelligence channel for prisoner exchanges.
- —What happened On Wednesday 30 September, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected a reported US idea: gradual sanctions relief if Russia frees political prisoners. He said Russia has none.
- —Who is involved White House envoy John Coale, who brokered releases in Belarus. The rights group Memorial counts 1,826 political prisoners in Russia, The Moscow Times reported on 30 September.
- —What it means for you No quick easing of Russia sanctions is in sight. Case-by-case prisoner swaps remain the working channel between the two governments.
- —Still open Whether Washington formally tabled the plan, and whether it will drop it or reframe it as a prisoner exchange.
The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected a reported plan to trade US sanctions relief for the release of political prisoners in Russia. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the idea was never discussed and called its framing “completely inappropriate”.
The refusal came from Moscow, not Havana, although the Cuban outlet 14ymedio carried the news via the Spanish agency EFE. Peskov left one door open: prisoner exchanges, which Russian and US intelligence services still discuss regularly.
What Peskov Said
“In this formulation, the issue was not discussed and could not be discussed,” Peskov told his daily briefing, as quoted by The Moscow Times. The reason, he said, is that Russia “categorically” denies holding political prisoners of any kind.
Europa Press, citing the Interfax agency, said he denied that any easing of sanctions was raised in exchange for releases. He added that “various prisoner exchanges” have taken place and that contacts on them continue.
Russia and the United States have swapped prisoners twice since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, The Moscow Times noted. That channel works because both sides frame each case as an exchange, not a concession.
The business track also stays open. Kirill Dmitriev heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and advises President Vladimir Putin on the economy. He said on Wednesday that “there are many areas of cooperation” with Washington, Europa Press reported.
The Belarus Model Behind the Offer
The denial answered a report in the US magazine The Atlantic, published earlier this week. It said Trump had signed on to envoy John Coale’s idea of lifting sanctions gradually if Moscow freed political prisoners.
Coale ran the same formula with Belarus, Russia’s closest ally. Minsk has freed about 170 prisoners since December 2025, including leading opposition figures, EFE reported. In return, Washington eased sanctions on Belarusian potash.
Belarus supplied about 20 percent of the world’s potassium chloride before the 2021 sanctions, according to EFE. Belarusian opposition figures told EFE that Washington wanted the potash amid its trade war with Canada, its main fertiliser supplier.
Russia offers no such simple bargain for US sanctions relief. Its penalties are tied to the war in Ukraine, and Moscow rejects the premise that it holds political prisoners at all.
Why Latin America Is Watching
Washington has pressed the same question on Cuba, Moscow’s close Caribbean partner. In April Havana pardoned 2,010 prisoners amid US talks led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. See Cuba Releases 2,010 Prisoners in Largest Pardon in a Decade as US Negotiations Intensify.
Havana did not say whether political prisoners were among them. US pressure has since tightened, as covered in Cuba Sanctions: US Targets Nickel Firms and Military Officers.
Moscow’s refusal shows the limit of the approach. Releases for relief work where a government accepts the trade in private, not where it denies the prisoners exist.
What Is Not Yet Known
It is unclear whether the United States formally put the proposal to Russian officials. The White House has not publicly confirmed The Atlantic’s account.
It is also unknown whether the idea could return as a named prisoner exchange, a form Moscow accepts. Coale was nominated this week as US special envoy for hostage affairs, The Moscow Times reported, which may shape the next step.
Sources: 14ymedio / EFE, 30 September 2026; The Moscow Times, 30 September 2026; Europa Press, 30 September 2026; Rio Times archive.
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