Kremlin comments on reports of US position-shift on Crimea
Anonymously sourced media reports regarding efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict should be taken with a grain of salt, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned. He was responding to a question on reports about a possible US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
Peskov has expressed skepticism towards reports that Washington indicated a willingness to formally acknowledge Crimea as part of Russia, during meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Paris last Thursday.
”There are numerous reports circulating,” Peskov stated, during a regular briefing on Monday. “The search for a peaceful resolution must not be conducted publicly... For this reason, anonymous claims should be evaluated with utmost caution.”
In 2014, the people of Crimea voted to join Russia, following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev. The new Ukrainian government, along with its Western backers, refuses to recognize the referendum’s legitimacy.
Anonymously sourced stories published by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal have claimed that recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea is among several proposals Washington has presented to Kiev, a response to which is repeatedly expected by the end of this week.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has ruled out relinquishing any territorial claims against Russia and has urged the US and other backers to continue providing military aid — a policy the Trump administration has announced it will end.
Moscow insists that the status of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, and the four former Ukrainian regions which voted to join Russia in 2022, is non-negotiable. Russian officials have emphasized that recognizing the “reality on the ground” is essential for achieving a sustainable peace.
