Sanctions Against Russia Must Be Maintained. U.S. Senators Comment on Coale’s Plan

Reform.news Editorial Team · 4 October 2026, 14:34

https://reform.news/en/sanctions-against-russia-must-be-maintained-u-s-senators-comment-on-coale-s-plan/

U.S. senators Jeanne Shaheen and Pete Ricketts spoke out against easing sanctions on Russia while commenting on a proposal by John Coale to seek the release of political prisoners in exchange for easing restrictions. Their statements were reported by The Hill.

U.S. President Donald Trump nominated his special envoy for Belarus, Coale, to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs (SPEHA). The Senate must confirm the nomination.

As SPEHA, Coale’s responsibilities would expand: instead of working only on Belarus, he would seek the release of dozens of American hostages and wrongfully detained citizens around the world, engaging with authoritarian leaders and terrorist organizations.

According to reports, Coale intends to apply his Belarus strategy to Vladimir Putin, proposing that the White House ease sanctions against Russia in exchange for the release of political prisoners.

The controversial plan will be one of the main issues at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will consider his nomination.

“I think there are some tough questions that John Coale needs to answer,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said.

Shaheen welcomed Coale’s willingness to speak with representatives of both parties but called easing sanctions against Russia “unacceptable.”

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts also called for maintaining the restrictions.

“I would advise keeping the sanctions on,” he said, referring to Putin as a “dictator.”

“We need to keep punching him in the nose,” Ricketts added.

His fellow Republican, Foreign Relations Committee member Bill Hagerty, declined to publicly assess the proposal. He described negotiations involving human lives as “extraordinarily sensitive.”

“I’m not going to comment in the media about this, or about undercutting him or supporting him, anything like that,” Hagerty said.

The bureaucratic procedures required before a hearing, the committee’s workload and the Senate’s schedule after the midterm elections, during the period before the new Congress begins its work, will all affect whether Coale appears before the committee by the end of the year, The Hill notes.

Fried: Approach to Belarus Cannot Be Applied to Russia

Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council, praised the results of Coale’s work in Belarus.

“John Coale managed to get more political prisoners released than any other, 500 people, that’s to his credit,” he said.

Fried also noted Coale’s willingness to work with State Department experts, which, he said, helped avoid Lukashenka’s traps.

At the same time, Fried opposed applying this approach to Russia. He stressed that selectively lifting sanctions on Lukashenka differs from easing restrictions on Putin because the latter would directly affect Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.

“Coale did a credible job in Belarus. Applying that to Russia does not work. I think that’s dumb,” Fried said.

Tsikhanouskaya: Sanctions Need to Be Distinguished

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told The Hill that sanctions can be used to secure the release of people if concessions are limited and reversible.

“Sanctions are leverage, and if limited, reversible steps can help bring people home, that leverage can be used strategically,” she said, commenting on the release of another 25 people from Belarusian prisons on September 16 with Coale’s assistance.

At the same time, Tsikhanouskaya called for distinguishing between the grounds for imposing restrictions.

“Human rights sanctions can be discussed with a humanitarian track. Sanctions related to Russia’s war, military cooperation and threats to European security are different,” she stressed.

Ukraine Opposes Easing Sanctions

Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienik, said Kyiv opposes easing sanctions on Russia and is seeking to expand the sanctions lists.

“Russia’s strategy of missile and drone attacks and increasing number of civilian casualties show that the time for any sanctions relief in Russia hasn’t come,” he said.

The White House, responding to questions from The Hill, said Trump intends to help bring the war to an end.

“The President wants this war settled so the senseless killing ends,” an administration official said. According to the official, Trump “remains optimistic” about reaching a peace agreement.

The Hill also requested comment from a representative of Coale. His response was not included in the publication.