President Barack Obama urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull his troops back from the border with Ukraine during a phone call Friday and expressed his worry about Moscow's intentions, according to Reuters.
The Russian leader, who initiated the call, asserted that Ukraine's government is allowing extremists to intimidate civilians with impunity, Reuters reported.
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 U.S. has presented, according to Reuters. Obama told the Russian leader that Ukraine's government is pursuing de-escalation despite Russia's incursion into Crimea, urging Putin to support that effort.
President Obama also 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, Reuters reported.
Russia and the local authorities have complained of Ukraine's recent moves to limit travel across the border of the region on Ukraine's southern border, according to Reuters. In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin pointed at an "effective blockade" of Moldova's separatist region of Trans-Dniester, where Russia has troops
There were fears in Ukraine that Russia could use its forces in Trans-Dniester to invade, Reuters reported.
Obama, in a CBS News interview aired Friday but recorded before the call, said Russia is amassing troops along the Ukrainian border "under the guise of military exercises," according to Reuters. "It may simply be an effort to intimidate Ukraine, or it may be that they've got additional plans."
Obama added that "in either case, what we need right now to resolve and de-escalate the situation would be for Russia to move back those troops and to begin negotiations directly with the Ukrainian government, as well as the international community."
