The Trump administration is reportedly in talks to let Russia resume control of diplomatic compounds in New York and Maryland, putting the White House on a path to potentially reversing Obama-era sanctions imposed against Moscow over its purported involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
President Trump is considering handing back to Russia both compounds — one near New York City and another on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — less than six months after his predecessor gave Moscow a day’s notice to abandon both in response to Russia’s alleged election meddling, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing several unnamed sources privy to the possibility.
President Obama ordered Russian to abandon the compounds on Dec. 29, the same day his administration announced the expulsion of nearly three dozen alleged “intelligence operatives” amid lingering concerns involving Moscow’s role in last year’s White House race.
The U.S. intelligence community publicly concluded a week later that Russian President Vladimir Putin had directly ordered an influence campaign intended to sway the outcome of last year’s White House contest in favor of Mr. Trump over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The Trump administration spoke with Russian officials early last month and said it would consider returning the properties if Moscow lifts sanctions of its own so that the U.S. may construct a new consulate on a particular parcel of land in St. Petersburg, the Post reported.
“The U.S. and Russia have reached no agreements,” R.C. Hammond, senior communications adviser for the U.S. State Department, told NBC News on Wednesday evening. “The next meeting will be in June in St. Petersburg.”
In Moscow, meanwhile, Mr. Hammond’s Russian counterpart said Thursday that the Kremlin may seek monetary damages from the White House over last year’s forced ejection.
“This issue is slowly shifting to the field of compensation for the damage,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday.
“In Washington, the U.S. side said that in the near future it will hand over proposals to us on how to settle the situation,” she said, the state-owned TASS newswire reported. “So far, we haven’t received any proposals from the U.S. side.”
The two compounds in question include a 14-acre estate on Long Island and a 45-acre swath of land about 90 miles outside of D.C., near the Corsica and Chester rivers.
Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s former ambassador to the United Nations, previously described the compounds as “vacation facilities for our kids.” According to U.S. officials, however, Russia utilized either for intelligence-gathering purposes dating back decades.
Any decision from the White House concerning the compounds’ fate will certainly raise eyebrows given the president’s purported links to Russia, currently the subject of no fewer than three separate probes underway in the House, Senate and Justice Department.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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