Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said Crimeans want to be with Russia rather than Ukraine.

US Republican Party Presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday that the people of Crimea prefer to be with Russia.

“The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were [Ukraine],” Trump told ABC News in an interview.

Russia’s historical southern region of Crimea rejoined Russia 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.