It was former President Barack Obama’s fault that Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, according to Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters outside of the White House today, the POTUS said the following, Fox News reports.

“President Obama lost Crimea just so you understand, this was before I got there. President Obama lost Crimea. President Obama lost Crimea because president Putin didn’t respect President Obama, didn’t respect our country, and didn’t respect Ukraine.”

“Obama gave away Crimea, that should have never happened,” the President added. These statements come only a day after BuzzFeed News published an exclusive story, detailing Trump’s discussions at the G7 summit in Quebec, Canada. President Donald Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian, two diplomatic sources told BuzzFeed.

In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, which led to Russia being kicked out of the then-G8, BuzzFeed noted. Apart from being kicked out of the world’s most significant inter-governmental political forum, Russia faced – and is still facing – widespread sanctions.

Before the G7 summit in Quebec, Trump said Russia should be a part of the forum again. Speaking with Fox News‘ Bret Baier, the President said that – although he is not for Russia, but for the United States – the country should be back in G7, since the leaders of G7 members spend “25 percent” of their time “talking about Russia.”

During a dinner at the G7 summit, Trump, according to BuzzFeed, questioned why the G7 leaders were siding with Ukraine when it is “one of the most corrupt countries in the world.” These comments, the same outlet noted, stirred up a lot of controversy, since Donald Trump is accused of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election.

"President Obama lost Crimea, just so you understand. This was long before I got there. I want to make it so the fake news prints it properly."



WATCH: President @realDonaldTrump's full remarks to press outside @WhiteHouse - Part 2. pic.twitter.com/GnHDbc7zc9 — Fox News (@FoxNews) June 15, 2018

Trump has repeatedly denied collaborating and coordinating with the Russians, calling Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt,” multiple times. Thursday evening, as Politico noted, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe should be suspended. Giuliani sees this as the last chance for Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to “redeem themselves.”

Giuliani inherited Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer. Currently, at the center of a probe by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Cohen is, according to the New Yorker, ready to cooperate with federal investigators.

Cohen, according to the New Yorker, likely has information prosecutors and Robert Mueller would find interesting. Cohen’s Russia connections could, the same outlet noted, be of interest to the Special Counsel, being that it is well-known that Cohen worked with Felix Sater, Trump’s Russian-born business associate, in charge of the Trump Tower Moscow project.

The President was asked about Cohen today, and whether he was worried Cohen would collaborate. “No, I’m not. I did nothing wrong,” the POTUS said, adding that Cohen, although not his lawyer anymore, is “a good person.”