A surrogate for Donald Trump’s campaign argued on Sunday that Russia has not seized Crimea from Ukraine, even though Vladimir Putin seized the region more than two years ago.

While discussing the GOP nominee’s recent remarks about Putin on CNN Sunday, campaign surrogate Boris Epshteyn said, “First of all, Russia did not seize Crimea.”

“We could talk about the conflict that happened between the Ukraine and Crimea, it’s an ongoing conflict, but there was no seizure by Russia. That is an incorrect statement, characterization of what happened,” he continued.

An unauthorized referendum after the Ukrainian revolution led Russia to formally annex Crimea in 2014. Putin has repeatedly insisted that Russia has no military operations in the region.

Watch the full interview via The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, with Epshteyn’s remarks starting around four minutes in:



