Washington : Amid increasing tension over Ukraine and massing of Russian troops on its border, President Barack Obama spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and talked about a US proposal “for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis,” the White House said on Saturday, reports PTI.
“Putin called Obama today to discuss the US proposal for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, which Secretary (of State, John) Kerry had again presented to (Russian) Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov at the meeting at the Hague earlier this week, and which we developed following US consultations with our Ukrainian and European partners,” the White House said.
Obama suggested that Russia put a concrete response in writing and the presidents agreed that Kerry and Lavrov would meet to discuss next steps, the White House said.
“Obama underscored to Putin that the United States continues to support a diplomatic path in close consultation with the government of Ukraine and in support of the Ukrainian people with the aim of de-escalation of the crisis,” the White House said.
During the call, Obama made clear that this remains possible only if Russia pulls back its troops and does not take any steps to further violate Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“Obama reiterated that the US has strongly opposed the actions that Russia has already taken to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said.
According to a senior administration official, the US de-escalation proposal was fully coordinated
with the Ukrainian government.
