U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone Monday about the escalating crisis in Ukraine, the White House and Kremlin both said.
The Kremlin said Putin told Obama to "use the American side's capabilities" to prevent the use of "force and bloodshed"— which has become increasingly likely in the face of pro-Russian forces battling government troops in the eastern part of Ukraine. Tensions heightened on Monday, as the U.S. said CIA Director John Brennan visited Kiev and a Russian war plane "buzzed" a U.S. warship in the Black Sea.
There were no immediate readouts of the call from the White House.
The Obama administration has spent the last few days ratcheting up its rhetoric and promising more "costs" for Russia if it continues displaying aggression towards Ukraine. Washington has also warned Putin's actions seem eerily reminiscent of the situation last month in Crimea before Russian troops entered that region.
The White House has openly accused Russia of supporting the "provocateurs" in Ukraine, and on Saturday, blamed the Russian government for "inciting violence and sabotage" in the country's eastern regions. According to the Kremlin's readout of their call, in response to Obama's concern over Russia's "supposed meddling," Putin said his suspicions Moscow is in any way involved in the pro-Russian protests wracking Ukraine are based on inaccuracies.
On Monday, the pro-Russian separatists ignored an ultimatum to vacate occupied government buildings in nearly 10 Ukrainian cities. Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov on Monday called for the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping troops in the eastern part of the country.
Here is the Kremlin's readout of the call:
The leaders discussed various aspects of the crisis situation in Ukraine, first and foremost in the southeastern regions engaged in a protest movement against the policies of the current authorities in Kiev.
The Russian side stressed that the protests in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkov, Slavyansk and other cities in southeastern Ukraine are the result of the Kiev authorities’ unwillingness and inability to take into account the interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population. Vladimir Putin called upon Barack Obama to use the American side’s capabilities to prevent the use of force and bloodshed as much as possible.
In response to the President of the United States’ expressed concern about Russia’s supposed meddling in southeastern Ukraine, the President of Russia noted that such speculations are based on inaccurate information. The current Ukrainian authorities must think first and foremost about truly involving all the main political forces and regions in a transparent process for developing a new constitution that guarantees the main rights and freedoms for citizens, the nation’s federal structure and its non-aligned status.
The two sides agreed to continue efforts to seek diplomatic cooperation in the context of the Ukrainian situation ahead of the four-party meeting (EU, Russia, US, Ukraine) scheduled in Geneva on April 17.