US President Donald Trump claims that people who called for immediate sanctions against Russia have since apologized after learning that he was negotiating the release of American citizen Steven Hubbard. Trump argued that imposing sanctions would have derailed the negotiations, and described Hubbard's release as a "really big and important deal" for the US. "If sanctions were imposed, surely these negotiations would have stopped completely."

US President Donald Trump claims that people who called for immediate sanctions against Russia have since apologized after learning that he was negotiating the release of American citizen Steven Hubbard. Trump argued that imposing sanctions would have derailed the negotiations, and described Hubbard's release as a "really big and important deal" for the US. "If sanctions were imposed, surely these negotiations would have stopped completely."