US Calls on Russia to Pull Forces Back from Ukraine Border
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Worried about Moscow's intentions, US President Barack Obama urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to pull his troops back from the border with Ukraine during an hour-long phone call on Friday.
The Russian leader, who initiated the call, asserted that Ukraine's government is allowing extremists to intimidate civilians with impunity.
The White House and the Kremlin offered starkly different summaries of the call, which occurred while Obama was traveling in Saudi Arabia, AP reported.
The contrasting interpretations underscored the chasm between how Moscow and Washington perceive the escalating international standoff sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea away from Ukraine.
White House officials described the call as "frank and direct" and said Obama had urged Putin to offer a written response to a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis that the US has presented. Obama urged Moscow to scale back its troop build-up on the border with Ukraine, which has prompted concerns in Kiev and Washington about a possible Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin, on the other hand, said Putin had drawn Obama's attention to a "rampage of extremists" in Ukraine and suggested "possible steps by the international community to help stabilize the situation" in Ukraine.
