Say What? Report: White House may restore Russian spy compounds in New York and Maryland that were closed by Obama

Trump being Trump, this may be as much a slap at his domestic critics on Russia as it is a pot sweetener for Moscow on international cooperation. What better way to show the opposition here at home that he won’t let the Russiagate investigation influence his foreign policy than by undoing a punishment imposed by Obama on Russia for its campaign hacking? The optics are so terrible that you’re left to conclude that that’s the point. It’s a middle finger to the people running around screaming “collusion!”

But I think there’s more here than meets the eye. The key question: Is this part of a quid pro quo or is it a gift to Russia, to bring them to the table? What does America get from this gesture by our “America First” president?

Early last month, the Trump administration told the Russians it would consider turning the properties back over to them if Moscow would lift its freeze, imposed in 2014 in retaliation for U.S. sanctions related to Ukraine, on construction of a new U.S. consulate on a certain parcel of land in St. Petersburg.

Two days later, the U.S. position changed. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a meeting in Washington, that the United States had dropped any linkage between the compounds and the consulate, according to several people with knowledge of the exchanges.

Read the rest from ALLAHPUNDIT HERE and follow a link to a related story below:

Trump Might Give Back Russian Diplomatic Compounds

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