“The irony of this entire situation is that the president has been incredibly tough on Russia,” Sean Spicer said | Getty White House: Trump has been ‘incredibly tough on Russia’ But the Trump administration will still seek to work with the country on some issues.

The Trump administration will take a tough stance on Russia even as it seeks to work with the country on some issues, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday.

The comments come after Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, resigned Monday night after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States about American sanctions.

“The irony of this entire situation is that the president has been incredibly tough on Russia,” Spicer said. “He continues to raise the issue of Crimea, which the previous administration allowed to be seized by Russia. His ambassador to the United Nations, stood before the U.N. Security Council on her first day and strongly denounced the Russian occupation of Crimea.”

Spicer was referencing Russia’s 2014 seizure of the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula, which the Obama administration responded to with sanctions on the Russian regime.

“President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in Ukraine and return Crimea,” Spicer said. “At the same time, he fully expects to and wants to be able to get along with Russia, unlike previous administrations, so that we can solve many problems together facing the world, such as ISIS and terrorism.”

Trump has largely refrained from attacking the Russian regime, and he has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has also insisted he has no relationship with Putin and no business dealings in Russia, after some questioned whether his unreleased tax returns would reveal ties to Russia.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump and hurt Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.