"Regarding Trump's position on recognition of Crimea and Sevastopol as part of Russia, I would very much like to hope [for it]," Leonid Slutsky told reporters.
Slutsky reminded that Trump had repeatedly expressed desire to meet the Russian leadership and change the approach to the Syrian issue.
During his campaign, Trump drew criticism from the US media because of his seemingly favorable view of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump reportedly claimed that he and Putin would "get along well" and that the improvement of the US-Russian relationship would be "a tremendous thing."
Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined the country after a 2014 referendum. Almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification in a referendum. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of votes. Kiev, as well as the European Union, the United States and their allies, did not recognize the move and consider the peninsula to be an occupied territory.
