Trump to Look at Recognizing Crimea as Russian Territory
Donald Trump said that, if he is elected president, he would consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and lifting the sanctions against Russia.
Donald Trump said he would consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and lifting the sanctions against the country if he’s elected president.
At a wide-ranging news conference, Trump said he “would be looking into that” when asked about his stance on Crimea and Russia.
In February 2014, pro-Russian gunmen took over government buildings in Simferopol, Crimea’s capital, and held a referendum in March of that year in which an overwhelming majority of voters said they wanted to rejoin Russia. Then Russian President Vladimir Putin took advantage of a popular revolt which toppled Kiev’s pro-Russian government and annexed the territory shortly thereafter.
The United States, along with the European Union, has refused to recognize the annexation or the referendum legitimizing it, and has enforced sanctions on Russian state banks and corporations.
Trump’s comments on Crimea came during the same news conference that he suggested Russia hack Hillary Clinton’s email server to “find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” The remark has been harshly criticized, and the Clinton campaign said it has now become a national security issue.
(h/t Politico, The Atlantic)
Reality
Donald Trump has been making a lot of pro-Russian stances.
- Heaped praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin saying, “I will tell you, in terms of leadership, he’s getting an ‘A,’ and our president is not doing so well. They did not look good together.”
- Questioned the need for NATO calling it “obsolete.”
- Declared he would not come to the aide of NATO allies when attacked by Russia if they do not pay.
- Fought like mad during the Republican National Convention to change the GOP platform to no longer provide arms to Ukraine in their conflict with Russia.
- Told a conference in Ukraine that their nation was invaded because “there is no respect for America.”
- Invited Russian hackers to attack his political rival in order to influence the American election.
Media
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAy0R8JOWMo