Russia and Putin · First term · № 41
Declined to rule out recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea ahead of the Helsinki summit
“We're going to have to see.”
- Said
- , Aboard Air Force One en route to New Jersey
- Subject
- Recognition of Crimea
- Type
- Ukraine
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- First term
What happened
Asked on June 29, 2018, whether reports that he might drop U.S. opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea were true, Trump said: 'We're going to have to see.' Asked whether he would consider lifting the sanctions imposed over the annexation, he said: 'We'll see what Russia does.' He said he would raise Ukraine, Syria and election interference with Putin at their July 16 summit. Under both the Obama administration and, until then, Trump's, U.S. policy had been that the annexation violated international law. On July 25, 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued the Crimea Declaration, which stated that the United States 'rejects Russia's attempted annexation of Crimea' and would maintain that policy until Ukraine's territorial integrity is restored.