Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says the US should accept Russia's annexation of Crimea if it would help relations with Moscow and strengthen cooperation in fighting Islamic State.
That view runs counter to the Obama administration, which imposed economic sanctions against Russia for annexing the territory in Ukraine two years ago.
The United Nations also doesn't want Crimea recognised as part of Russia, and some top Republicans staunchly defend Crimea against what they consider Russian aggression.
In an interview broadcast on Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Trump suggested that the people of Crimea would rather be part of Russia. However, the US hasn't recognised the legitimacy of Russian referendums in Crimea and believes they were not conducted fairly.
Trump also says he wasn't involved in softening support in the Republican Party platform on assisting Ukraine. Although the platform is not pro-Russia, Trump supporters succeeded in preventing a reference to arming Ukraine from being added.
In the past, Trump's campaign manager, political strategist Paul Manafort, lobbied on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, a Ukrainian president and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Manafort has said neither he nor anyone else with the Trump campaign pushed for the platform changes.
In response to other questions about US-Russia relations, Trump dismissed suggestions that he has any kind of relationship with Putin, saying he has neither met Putin nor spoken on the phone with him.
Asked why he had said several times in the past that he had a relationship with Putin, Trump said he doesn't know what "having a relationship" means.
"He has said nice things about me over the years," Trump said of Putin. "I remember years ago, he said something, many years ago, he said something very nice about me. I said something good about him when (broadcaster) Larry King was on. This was a long time ago."
Trump said it would be a "great thing" if the US got along with Russia and if Russia would help fight the Islamic State group.
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