Russia is determined not to relinquish control of Crimea.

(Baonghean.vn) - Russia will not hand over control of Crimea to Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on February 15, in response to comments from the White House that the US hopes Russia will return the peninsula in the Black Sea.

The submarine Rostov-On-Don sails past the missile cruiser Moskva on the anniversary of the Russian Navy in Sevastopol, Crimea, on July 31, 2016. Photo: Reuters.

"We are not returning our territory. Crimea is part of the Russian Federation," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, asserted at a press briefing.

On the same day, the Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, also declared that any discussion of separating Crimea from Russia would be a violation of the country's territorial integrity.

"Let's stop all discussion when talking about the different claims regarding Crimea. Any exchange about the separation of territory (and Crimea being part of Russia) is an infringement on the country," he said at a plenary session of the State Duma.

Earlier, on February 14, the White House said that US President Donald Trump had clearly expressed his expectation that Russia would relinquish control of the territory, return Crimea to Ukraine, and de-escalate tensions in Donbass.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, prompting the United States and the European Union to subsequently impose sanctions on the country, pushing Western relations with the Kremlin to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters and TASS)