Moscow, Feb 15 .- Russia will never return Crimea, said the Russian foreign ministry Wednesday in response to United States President Donald Trump, who believes it should be returned to Kiev.

In a press conference, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia would not give back its territories, and Crimea was a part of the Russian Federation.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Tuesday said Trump "made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his country's sovereignty over the peninsula could not be discussed as "Russia does not discuss issues related to its territory with foreign partners."

According to him, the issue of Crimea had not even been raised in the phone call between Trump and President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 28.

The spokesman said Moscow expected the issue to be discussed calmly and in a constructive way once relations with Washington were more positive.

He said Putin would patiently explain to the US the so-called coup in Ukraine, which led Crimean citizens to apply for admission into Russia.

On Mar. 16, 2014, Crimea celebrated a referendum in which 97 percent of voters said yes to a reunification with Russia.

The referendum was not accepted by Kiev nor the international community.

After finalizing the annexation of the territory, the Kremlin backed pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine who were rising up against Kiev.

This decision left it with harsh economic sanctions from the West, with whom relations were arguably at their worst since the end of the Cold War. (EFE)