MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Trump said he would look into recognizing Crimea as the territory of the Russian Federation as well as into lifting sanctions against Moscow. On Sunday, Trump told ABC News that the people of Crimea prefer to be with Russia instead of Ukraine.
"The shameless statement by the US presidential candidate Trump about the possible recognition of Crimea as Russian is a diagnosis of a dangerous outcast. And he is dangerous for Ukraine as well as for the United States," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Trump’s statement on Crimea is a challenge to the values of the "free world" and international law.
Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined Russia after a 2014 referendum. Almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification in a referendum. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of votes.