The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has said the United States does not and will not recognize the Kremlin's control of Crimea.
"Five years ago, Russia organized an illegitimate referendum on the annexation of Crimea. The United States does not and will not recognize the Kremlin's control of Crimea. We expressed clear and unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity during the visit of the USS Donald Cook to Odesa," the embassy wrote on Facebook, posting a video statement by United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker.
UNIAN memo. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia. On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin. The West did not recognize the annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced. Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began.
