U.S. does not support referendum in Donbas - State Department

The U.S. Administration does not consider a legitimate opportunity to hold a referendum in the occupied territory of Ukraine.

"To be clear: The Administration is not considering supporting a referendum in eastern Ukraine - A “referendum” would have no legitimacy. We continue to support Minsk agreements for solving the conflict in Donbas," Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert stated this in response to a request to confirm or deny information about the discussion of this issue at the summit of Presidents Trump and Putin.

The Bloomberg news agency informed that the presidents discussed this issue in Helsinki on July 16. On Friday, it was confirmed by Russian Ambassador to the USA Anatoly Antonov

According to the U.S. Department of State, "the Minsk agreements are the process for resolving the conflict in Donbas, and these agreements do not include any option for referendum."

In addition, the Department of State noted that "to organize a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy."

ish