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Kremlin mum on Trump's G7 remarks about Crimea

Trump allegedly told G7 leaders Crimea was Russian because its people were Russian speakers

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has refused to comment on media reports about US President Donald Trump’s statements concerning Russia, made at the G7 summit behind closed doors, saying it was difficult to say if such publications were true.

"There’s been so much fake news that I would prefer not to make any comment on, because we just do not know how true the reports are. Neither you nor we attended the G7 meetings behind closed doors. We are not in the position to judge the authenticity of such reports," he told the media, when asked for a comment about media reports Trump allegedly told the other G7 leaders Crimea was Russian because its people were Russian speakers.

On the whole, as he reviewed Trump’s statements about Russia, including his opinion it was necessary to invite Russia back into the G7 group, Peskov recalled Putin’s statement to the effect Russia was not the initiator of terminating the G8 format and that the Russian president would be always glad to welcome G7 leaders as guests and to continue the dialogue with them.

"In general, G20 is far more relevant, for it brings together the leaders of the world’s largest economies," Peskov said.

Asked if it would be correct to say that some positive trends had developed towards mending Russian-US relations in general, Peskov said "for now it is possibly too early to say so."

"But the very idea even the most acute problems should be resolved through dialogue absolutely correspond with the certainty President Putin had expressed more than once," Peskov said.