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Crimea’s status is not up for discussion, Kremlin avows

The Kremlin stressed that the issue of Crimea’s recognition as Russian land cannot be on the agenda for international negotiations

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. The Kremlin stressed that the issue of Crimea’s recognition as Russian land cannot be on the agenda for international negotiations, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

The Kremlin spokesman thus commented on US President Donald Trump’s statement that at the upcoming summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16 he intended to raise the issue of Crimea. The US leader did not rule out that Washington might recognize the peninsula as Russian soil.

"The Russian president has repeatedly stated and explained to his interlocutors that such an issue as Crimea cannot and will never be on the agenda because Crimea is an integral part of Russia. All the other questions are consensus issues, topics for discussions and the search for potential common ground," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman reminded journalists of the position held by the head of the Russian state: "he and Russia are open for dialogue and for a joint search for compromises.".