According to the White
House, Putin called to talk about an American proposal "for a diplomatic
resolution to the crisis" and the two presidents agreed that their
respective top diplomats "would meet to discuss next steps."
The back-and-forth also
gave Obama the opportunity to express, as he's done repeatedly in recent
week, his opposition to what he described as Russia's taking over of
Crimea, which just a few weeks ago was part of Ukraine. He also raised
concerns about a reported massing of Russian troops near the border,
which has raised fear of further incursions.
"President 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," the White House said.
The phone call came on
the same day an interview aired in which Obama said Russia could ease
tensions with Ukraine if it moved its troops back and begin direct talks
with the Kiev government
"You've seen a range of
troops massing along that border under the guise of military exercises,
but these are not what Russia would normally be doing," the President
said in the CBS News interview. "It may simply be an effort to
intimidate Ukraine, or it may be that they've got additional plans.
"And, 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."
Russia may have 40,000
troops near its border with Ukraine, two U.S. officials told CNN on
Thursday. The officials said that this estimate was largely based on
satellite imagery and that a firm number is difficult to assess.
However, a spokesman for
Ukraine's Council of National Security and Defense, Yarema Dukh, told
CNN his government estimates 88,000 Russian troops are at the Ukrainian
border.
U.S. officials said they believe the higher estimates may reflect Russian troops on alert farther to the east.
Russia has said its troops are carrying out snap military exercises in the region.
Also Friday, U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported on his talks with Putin and
Ukraine leaders, saying he asked Putin if any military action was about
to happen.
"This is what the
President Putin told me: That he had no intention to make any military
move," Ki-moon said. "I should also tell you that, at the same time,
President Putin also expressed his concern about some extreme radical
elements and as such along the borderline."
Ki-moon said diplomacy is the only way.
"At this time of heightened attention, even small spars can ignite larger flames of unintended consequences," he said.
Obama said he believes
Putin still harbors a grievance over the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet
Union. "You would have thought that, after a couple of decades, there'd
be an awareness on the part of any Russian leader that the path forward
is not to revert back to the kinds of practices that were so prevalent
during the Cold War."
Instead, he said, Putin should be moving toward further integration with the world economy.
Obama said that Putin
has described the breakup of the Soviet Union as tragic, and that he may
feel that the West has taken advantage of Russia.
"He may be entirely
misreading the West," Obama said. "He's certainly misreading American
foreign policy. We have no interest in encircling Russia, and we have no
interest in Ukraine -- beyond letting the Ukrainian people make their
own decisions about their own lives."
He rejected the notion
that Russia's concerns over maintaining its influence along its borders
might justify its invasion of other countries.
"Certainly, they're
going to have influence -- because of trade and tradition and language
and heritage -- with Ukraine," he said. "But there's a difference
between that and sending in troops and, because you're bigger and
stronger, taking a piece of the country. That is not how international
law and international norms are observed in the 21st century."
Russia rejects U.N. resolution
Obama's comments were
broadcast as Russia dismissed a U.N. General Assembly resolution that
branded Crimea's secession referendum invalid, calling it
"counterproductive."
The Russian Foreign
Ministry said the U.N. vote -- which followed Moscow's annexation of
Ukraine's Crimea region last week on the basis of the hastily called
referendum -- would do nothing to help resolve the situation.
"The counterproductive
initiative with the General Assembly's resolution only complicates
efforts to stabilize the internal political crisis in Ukraine," the
ministry said in a statement.
The U.N. vote, held Thursday, saw 100 countries back the nonbinding resolution, with 11 opposed and 58 abstaining.
Russia's actions in
Ukraine have been widely condemned by the West and prompted concern in
Kiev and other former Soviet states that further incursions may follow.
On Friday, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow, "I hope that
the situation will be accepted with a sense of reality by our European
neighbors."
Also in Moscow, Russian
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukrainian troops in Crimea who
had chosen to remain in the Ukrainian Armed Forces had withdrawn. "The
change in state symbols on all ships and in all divisions that have
sided with the Russian army has been completed," he said.
A spokesman for the
Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, Vladislav Seleznev, said military
personnel and their families from a number of military bases were
expected to depart Saturday for inland Ukraine.
Putin said that events
had demonstrated that Russian forces were prepared. "The recent events
in Crimea were a serious test," the Russian President said at a ceremony
marking military promotions, according to the Russian news agency
Interfax. "They demonstrated both the completely new capabilities of our
Armed Forces and the high morale of the personnel."
On Friday, Ukraine's
ousted President Viktor Yanukovych stepped into the fray with a call for
Ukrainians to demand a referendum on the future status of each region
in the country, according to Russian state news agency ITAR-Tass.
"As the President whose
thoughts and heart are together with you, I call on each reasonable
citizen of Ukraine -- don't let the imposters use you! Demand a
referendum on the determination of the status of each region within
Ukraine," Yanukovych said in an address to the Ukrainian people.
He said that a
referendum for all the regions was the only way to stabilize the
country, and that early presidential elections planned for May will be
neither fair nor constitutional.
Yanukovych also said he wished to be removed from his post as chairman of the Party of the Regions.
Yanukovych resurfaced in
Russia days after leaving Ukraine amid bloody street protests in
February against his decision to turn away from a European Union trade
deal in favor of closer ties with Moscow.
He and Russia say he is
still the legitimate leader of Ukraine, but the West disagrees. The
interim government in Kiev was voted in by a large majority in
parliament, including members of Yanukovych's own party.
Russia seized control of
Crimea amid the political upheaval that followed Yanukovych's ouster --
a step cemented by the controversial referendum and a new treaty that
absorbed the Black Sea peninsula into the Russian Federation.
Now, observers in the
West fear Moscow may make incursions into eastern Ukraine, where there
are strong ties to Russia, despite the threat of deeper EU and U.S.
sanctions.
International bailout
In another development
Thursday, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was
released from prison last month, said she intends to run for president
in elections on May 25.
After more than two years in prison, she was released in February after the ouster of her archrival, Yanukovych.
Tymoshenko said she
intended to ask delegates at her Batkivshchyna Party congress on
Saturday to nominate her as a presidential candidate.
Ukraine's elections are
taking place against a backdrop of poor economic conditions, Moscow's
annexation of Crimea and rumblings of discontent in the mainly
Russian-speaking eastern regions.
Tymoshenko's announcement came as the International Monetary Fund announced a $14 billion to $18 billion bailout for Ukraine to avoid bankruptcy. The bailout is tied to painful reforms as the country faces an escalating standoff with Russia.
Ukraine Foreign Minister
Oleksandr Shlapak said he was expecting the first transfer to be in the
amount of $3 billion, though he did not say when.
Obama on Thursday praised the loan agreement between the IMF and Ukraine, and said the United States will do its part to help.
The U.S. Senate on
Thursday approved $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine, along with
sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved Ukraine loan guarantees and is now voting on sanctions.
A large majority of
Crimeans voted in favor of leaving Ukraine for Russia in the referendum
held 12 days ago. It was dismissed by the interim government in Kiev and
the West as illegitimate.
The Black Sea peninsula,
which has a majority ethnic Russian population, was part of Russia
until 1954 and has long historical and cultural ties to the country.
Link to source: http://edition.cnn.com
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