In all their contacts with Russia on Ukraine, the Americans base their

In all their contacts with Russia on Ukraine, the Americans base their approach on the realities on the ground, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“The realities on the ground, which US President Donald Trump and his team continue to acknowledge, as was the case in Alaska, are tied to the people and their views. These views were expressed in referendums in Crimea, in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and, of course, in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. And the fact that the Americans, in all their contacts with us and especially with President Vladimir Putin, proceed from these realities naturally elicits a positive response from us and makes us willing to continue talking with them. They acknowledge these fundamental principles and are trying to be helpful in relation to them. I believe this deserves support,” the top diplomat said in response to a question from US analyst Andrew Napolitano posed on The Big Game TV program.