President Trump said Thursday that he would not have allowed Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine that allowed it to annex Crimea in 2014, and blamed former President Barack Obama for allowing it to happen.
“Long before I got here, President Obama allowed that to happen,” Trump told reporters in Belgium just days before he’s set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “That was on his watch, not on my watch.”
“That was on Barack Obama’s watch, that was not on Trump’s watch,” he added.
.@POTUS on Crimea: “That was on Barack Obama’s watch, that was not on Trump’s watch. Would I have allowed it to happen? No, I would not have allowed it to happen.” pic.twitter.com/445CcNGOjn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 12, 2018
“Would I have allowed it to happen?” Trump said. “No, I would not have allowed it to happen. But he did allow it to happen, so that was his determination.”
Trump had been asked whether he would recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and indicated he would not go that far.
“What will happen with Crimea from this point on? That I can’t tell you,” he said. “But I’m not happy about Crimea. But again, that was Barack Obama’s watch, not Trump’s watch.”
