--- title: White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results description: A White House adviser said the vote in Crimea to break off from Ukraine defied international law canonical: https://time.com/26644/white-house-will-ignore-crimea-referendum-results/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-16T20:43:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:47:54.617Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results og:description: A White House adviser said the vote in Crimea to break off from Ukraine defied international law og:url: https://time.com/26644/white-house-will-ignore-crimea-referendum-results/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt858f7c2d0e8ac421/698685b035ba6fbdeac00fea/479044361-jpg.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: Crimea Goes To The Polls In Crucial Referendum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results twitter:description: A White House adviser said the vote in Crimea to break off from Ukraine defied international law twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt858f7c2d0e8ac421/698685b035ba6fbdeac00fea/479044361-jpg.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=47322416-38ff-40a9-89ba-c1afaa86e161&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results [Watch (HLS stream): White House Will Ignore Crimea Referendum Results](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qkektTph.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2014-03-16. On the Sunday shows, a White House adviser said the vote in Crimea to break off from Ukraine defied international law. And Sen. John McCain called for a fundamental shift in how the U.S. handles Russia._ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 16, 2014 8:43 PM UTC On the Sunday shows, a White House adviser said the vote in Crimea to break off from Ukraine defied international law. And Sen. John McCain called for a fundamental shift in how the U.S. handles Russia. by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 16, 2014 8:43 PM UTC Dan Pfeiffer, a White House senior advisor, said on NBC’s _Meet the Press_ that Russia was isolating itself from the international community by pushing forward with the referendum in Crimea to split from Ukraine. On CNN, Sen. John McCain called for a “fundamental reassessment” of the U.S. relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Senate committee has already passed a bill that places harsh economic sanctions on Russia and sends financial aid to Ukraine. That bill was pushed by President Barack Obama and the White House. It will have to win approval on the Senate floor and in the House before going in to effect. ## Transcript With Crimea voting on whether to break from Ukraine and join Russia, White House Advisor Dan Pfeiffer tells Meet the Press the US will ignore that referendum. This referendum is in violation of international law. The United States is not gonna recognize the results of that referendum. Russia's isolated in the world. You saw that in the UN Security Council yesterday. And the more they escalate, the longer this goes, the greater those costs will be. The crisis in Ukraine, and Russia's slow creep along the nation's border, dominated political talk on the Sunday shows. Much of that discussion focused on this saga's central figure, Vladimir Putin. The increasingly bold Russian President has American lawmakers, including John McCain, calling for new tactics. The United States of America first of all has to have a fundamental reassessment of our relationship with Vladimir Putin. No more reset buttons, no more, tell Vladimir I'll be more flexible. Treat him for what he is. McCain also urged renewing America's missile defense system in Eastern Europe, though he said he did not support sending troops into Ukraine, or restarting the Cold War, for that matter. A Senate committee has already passed a bill placing harsh economic sanctions on Russia, and sending financial aid to Ukraine. That bill was pushed by President Obama and the White House. Still, it will have to win approval on the Senate floor and in the House before going into effect. 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