Donald Trump has quietly signed off on a Cold War-style scheme to ease sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s Russia in exchange for the release of political prisoners.
The plan was pitched to the president a few months ago by John Coale, his envoy to Eastern Europe and a former Trump lawyer, and had been kept secret, according to the Atlantic.
Trump approved US officials to strike lucrative deals for Russian oil, diesel and rare earth minerals, even as Moscow keeps bombing Ukrainian cities.