Obama Aware of Putin's Statements in Crimea Documentary

In the documentary "Crimea: Way Back Home", Putin explained the motives behind Russia’s policy toward the Crimea. Putin said that Russia's actions were solely defensive and primarily aimed to protect ethnic Russians and the Russian-speaking people there.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama knows about the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements in the new Crimea documentary, Special Assistant to the US President Celeste Wallander said at Woodrow Wilson Center on Tuesday.

"I don't know if President Obama has the intention of actually watching the documentary, but he is aware of it,” Wallander said. “He is aware of President Putin's statement in it that, in fact, the operation was planned ahead and was executed by Russian soldiers."

In the documentary "Crimea: Way Back Home" released on Sunday by Rossiya-1 TV, Putin explained the motives behind Russia’s policy toward Crimea. Putin said that Russia's actions in the Crimea were defensive and primarily aimed to protect ethnic Russians and the Russian-speaking people there.

Crimea reunified with Russia following a referendum held March 16, 2014, in which over 96 percent of Crimean voters backed a move to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Crimea's reunification with Russia followed the February 2014 coup in Ukraine.