Trump Reportedly Told Putin He Would Consider Proposal to Hold Referendum on Crimea

During a private conference Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told diplomats that he proposed holding a referendum in Ukraine to President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported. The referendum would determine the fate of Crimea, the peninsula forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014.

The scoop came from two insider sources who attended the speech where Putin revealed the potential plan. According to Putin, Trump asked the Russian leader to keep the proposal private so that he could consider it.

The referendum would reportedly entail voting in the country’s separatist territories to allow residents to choose the status on their respective regions.

The bulk of what the two presidents discussed in Helsinki, Finland this week remains a mystery, while on Twitter, Trump has hailed it as “a great success” during which he and Putin “got along well,” despite a number of U.S. lawmakers and the intelligence community expressing grave concerns and even condemnations of Trump’s behavior during the presser that followed last Monday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that during the summit, “some new ideas were discussed” on Ukraine’s situation and “they will be worked on,” Bloomberg reported. However, Peskov did not offer any details on the alleged referendum proposal.

[Image via screengrab]

Follow Amy Russo on Twitter: @amymrusso

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