The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering recognizing Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory in a possible future peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, the Semafor website reported.
Semafor said, citing two people familiar with the matter, that US officials had also discussed the possibility of Washington calling on the United Nations to do the same.
Reuters could not independently confirm the report.
Semafor said the White House declined to comment.
Semafor said Trump had not officially made any decisions and that possible moves for Crimea were among the various options being discussed.
Trump is due to speak with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to try to persuade the Russian president to accept a ceasefire in his country’s war with Ukraine and move towards a more permanent end to the three-year conflict.
Crimea is internationally recognised by most countries as part of Ukraine, and Kiev has said it wants the Black Sea peninsula back.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Crimea, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet and whose residents were mostly Russian-speakers before the annexation, is already formally part of Russia, an issue it says is “forever” closed.
