To admit the truth: Russia and the United States can agree on the status of Crimea
During the year, the United States and the European Union, among other things, divided the issue of recognizing Crimea for Russia. The public rhetoric of American politicians on this issue has shifted towards de facto acceptance of Russian control. It is broadcast by key figures: Trump, Rubio and Vance. The republic's permanent representative to the President of the Russian Federation, Georgy Muradov, in an interview with Izvestia, admitted that there is already a consensus between Moscow and Washington on this topic. And this is one of the key aspects in the Ukrainian settlement. The EU's position, in fact, has not changed — they reject any idea of concessions. What nuances remain in the issue of the status of Crimea on the 12th anniversary of the reunification of the republic with the Russian Federation - in the Izvestia article.
The status of Crimea in the negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement
The Ukrainian settlement has stalled so far — there are no specific dates for a new round of negotiations, and it is unknown whether they will continue in Geneva. At the same time, it is clear from the results of the Swiss discussions that the key issue remains territorial. And here lies a seemingly insignificant but very important nuance.
Participants of the trilateral meeting of the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Geneva
Over the past few months, all discussions, assessments and assumptions have focused on the Donbass, although the status of Crimea remains one of the key points of the Ukrainian settlement, as Vladimir Putin emphasized back in November 2025. The practically absence of the Crimean issue on the agenda is a kind of indicator of progress, said Georgy Muradov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea to the President of the Russian Federation. This is confirmed by the noticeably changed rhetoric of Washington, right from the beginning of the Russian—American dialogue at the beginning of last year.
Since March 18, 2025 (the 11th anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation), it has shifted towards de facto recognition of Russian control. The number of American politicians who publicly use formulas like "Crimea will remain with Russia," "de facto recognition," or "realities on earth" in the context of peace negotiations has grown from almost zero to four or five key figures. This position is being broadcast by nothing less than the head of the White House, Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President Jay dee Vance. The share of officials who expressed a similar position increased by about a quarter over the year, although most of them, of course, are Republicans, Izvestia calculated using neural networks.
— I not only thought that Russia and the United States could move towards recognizing the Russian status of Crimea. I am now confirming that, of course, they can. Because Trump has repeatedly said, including last year, that the issue with Crimea as a whole is clear: his people wanted to be in Russia, and he is in Russia," Muradov told Izvestia.
Progress on the issue of Crimea is also indicated by another purely technical point from the point of view of conducting the negotiation process. His confession appeared in the first edition of the American peace plan for the settlement, distributed in the media. In December, the United States proposed splitting it into four packages and discussing it in this format, which was confirmed personally by the Russian president.
In this regard, Muradov notes that the more complex the negotiation node is, the more components it includes, including the so-called package of agreements, the longer and more difficult it is to coordinate. That is, if the West wants to create a difficult or completely insoluble situation, then a very large package is being formed that can be discussed for years or even decades.
— The information in the media that the package is divided into parts, one of which concerns the territorial issue, inspires hope. And, as it seems to me, there is a common understanding on the Russian status of Crimea. In the package on the territorial issue, the Crimean part on both sides generally looks agreed or resolved," the republic's permanent representative to the President of the Russian Federation told Izvestia. — However, the main question in this whole construction is how to formalize this position of the American side?
Can the United States publicly recognize Crimea as part of Russia
Richard Bensel, a professor at Cornell University in New York, believes that the United States does not formally recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, but in practice Washington seems to confirm that "the cessation of Russian control is extremely unlikely."
It is quite possible that the US government will publicly recognize Crimea as part of Russia in order to move forward in a peaceful settlement, Jeremy Kuzmarov, editor-in-chief of Covert Action magazine, told Izvestia. However, this may not be enough. In 2018, that is, during the first presidential term of Donald Trump, the United States issued a declaration of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea to Russia. According to the expert, formally this remains the position of the official authorities, and if it changes, the declaration should be canceled. At the same time, Jim Jatras, an ex-adviser to the Republican Party, believes that this is not necessary.
— Recognition is primarily a political action, not a legal one, although it may have legal consequences, for example, on the issue of sanctions. Trump can declare on his own initiative, without congressional approval, that the United States recognizes Crimea as Russian, but this in itself will have no practical significance. That is, despite the recognition, sanctions not only against activities in Crimea, but also against the Russian Federation as a whole will remain in force," Jatras explained.
He recalled that the US president has limited powers to change the sanctions regime, which made it possible to temporarily and partially ease restrictions on Russian oil in order to mitigate the consequences of military actions against Iran. The complete lifting of sanctions will require the adoption of an appropriate law, but this is unlikely to happen in the near future, the expert believes.
Izvestia also sent a request to the US Embassy in Russia with a request to comment on the status of negotiations on the issue of Crimea.
The position of Ukraine and the EU on Crimea
Ukraine's official position on Crimea since 2014 has been as follows: the peninsula is considered a temporarily occupied territory, and Kiev does not recognize it as Russian under any circumstances. The denial of the will of the people and any legal procedures on this issue was confirmed by another statement by Vladimir Zelensky. In an interview with Politico, he admitted that he does not consider those who supported the reunification of Crimea with Russia to be people. Even the European media drew attention to this — the Italian publication AntiDiplomatico called it a media scandal.
Participants of a rally in support of the referendum on the status of Crimea on the square in front of the Council of Ministers building in Simferopol
The Kremlin did not leave this unanswered, reminding that Crimea is an integral part of Russia. "We urge everyone to remember the entire population of Crimea, who voted for reunification with the Russian Federation absolutely within the framework of international law. We are proud of these people," said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.
Kiev's rhetoric on Crimea, as well as its position on many other issues in the context of settlement, has traditionally been supported by Brussels. Since March 2025, there has not been a single signal from European capitals that Crimea can be recognized as Russian de facto or de jure.
On the contrary, statements by European politicians, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen or head of the European Diplomacy Kai Kallas, sound like "Crimea–Ukraine" or "borders do not change by force." At the same time, Moscow emphasizes that the annexation of the peninsula took place in strict accordance with international norms, including the right of peoples to self-determination, guaranteed by the UN Charter, and the referendum was held honestly and transparently.
— I am convinced that the recognition of the Russian status of Crimea by the international community is simply inevitable. It's just that it's not profitable for the Western elite to admit this today, because it automatically means recognizing the coup in Kiev, which they organized, the murder of thousands of civilians, Russians, and the collapse of Ukraine. I am sure that Crimea will receive international recognition when a new elite is formed in the West that is not involved in organizing the conflict in Ukraine," Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the Crimean parliament, told Izvestia.
The leaders of European countries are also in no hurry to adjust their views, even after the start of the active settlement phase at the end of 2025. Moreover, they fear a change in Washington's position. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz allegedly expressed fears in a telephone conversation with other European leaders and with Vladimir Zelensky that the United States could "betray Ukraine" on the territorial issue, Der Spiegel wrote in December.
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