President Donald Trump sidestepped a question about whether he would sign the new sanctions package if it reaches his desk | Getty Trump dodges on Russia sanctions

President Donald Trump sent mixed signals about U.S. sanctions against Russia in a conversation with reporters released by the White House on Thursday.

Trump's comments came as the House struggles for a way forward on a Russia sanctions bill that cleared the Senate with 98 votes last month. Trump sidestepped a question about whether he would sign the new sanctions package if it reaches his desk but declared his support for existing penalties against Moscow.


"We have very heavy sanctions on Russia right now," Trump told reporters on Air Force One in what was originally an off-the-record conversation Wednesday night, according to excerpts released by the White House. "I would not and have never even thought about taking them off. Somebody said, Donald Trump wants to — I don’t want to take them off."

But Trump also confirmed that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the pending congressional sanctions legislation during their meeting last week at the G-20 summit in Germany and left open the door to easing sanctions if his administration could gain something from Putin in the process.

"I would never take the sanctions off until something is worked out to our satisfaction and everybody’s satisfaction in Syria and in Ukraine," Trump said, adding later: "I’ve made great deals. That’s what I do. Why would I take sanctions off without getting anything?"

The White House has publicly endorsed the current sanctions regime against Russia, and legislative affairs director Marc Short said this week that the administration supports the new penalties in the bipartisan Senate-passed bill. But Short also confirmed that the White House is lobbying Republicans to change parts of the Senate's sanctions bill that would make it more difficult for Trump to roll back or end sanctions against Moscow.

And the State Department has confirmed ongoing discussions about Moscow's demand for the return of two diplomatic compounds seized by the Obama administration in December in response to U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia conducted a broad campaign to disrupt the election on Trump's behalf. The Senate-passed sanctions bill would prevent Trump from returning the compounds without congressional consent.

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Deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka said Thursday that Trump is considering giving Russia back the compounds, which the Obama administration had connected to spying, "because we want to give collaboration, cooperation a chance."

"We may not share the same philosophy, we may not share the same type of... view of the world, but the fact is there are some issues of common concern," Gorka told CNN.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, warned during a committee hearing Thursday that "we would consider that a major affront to Congress if action was taken on" returning the seized compounds to Russia before consulting with lawmakers.

White negotiations continue in the House about how to push the sanctions bill past a procedural dispute, oil and gas companies as well as other private-sector players are raising concerns to lawmakers about language in the legislation that might restrict their ability to do business with Russia-connected entities.

However, another influential K Street presence — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — is pressing for quick action on the bipartisan Iran sanctions bill to which the Russia penalties are attached.

"We strongly support the earliest possible House consideration and passage of Iran sanctions legislation," AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann said.

Heather Caygle contributed to this report.