WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday that the United States remains deeply concerned that Russia is ramping up support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. It was the first conversation between the leaders since the U.S. and Europe slapped a new round of economic sanctions on Moscow.
In a phone call, Obama also raised concerns that Russia violated a key Cold War era nuclear weapons treaty, the White House said. The Obama administration has said Russia violated a 1987 treaty that bans all U.S. and Russian missiles of intermediate range, meaning those that can travel between about 300 miles and about 3,400 miles.
In Moscow, the Kremlin said Putin had characterized the sanctions during the phone call as counterproductive, adding that they seriously damage bilateral cooperation and general global stability.
The Kremlin said both Obama and Putin underscored the urgency for bringing an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine and spoke positively about a meeting that took place the day before in Minsk, Belarus, among members of a diplomatic “contact group” pursuing an end to hostilities. That group includes representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In a lengthy statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry also criticized the U.S. report that included the allegation that Russia had violated the treaty.