NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he would strive for better US relations with Russia if he won the presidency, addressed an interview he had over the weekend that raised eyebrows when he said he would consider recognising Ukraine's Crimea as part of Russia, which annexed the region in 2014.

"I said Russia will not go into Ukraine," Trump told supporters at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

"A couple of papers said, 'Donald Trump doesn't realise that the Crimea was already taken.' I know it, two years ago, approximately. Approximately. It was taken during Obama's watch. So when I said, 'Believe me, Russia's not going into Ukraine, they're not going into Ukraine, the person said, 'They're already in Ukraine.' I said, yeah well that's two years ago, I mean, you want to go back?" Trump said.

He went on to call the Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times newspaper "totally dishonest".

Over the weekend, the Times ran an article entitled "Donald Trump Gives Questionable Explanation of Events in Ukraine".

"Crooked Hillary they write beautifully about," Trump said of the paper.

He called CNN the "Clinton News Network".

"Until they straighten up, I'm not doing their shows."