Obama Continues Telephone Outreach on Ukraine
Vacationing in Florida, President Barack Obama continued his telephone consultations with world leaders on Ukraine, speaking one on one Saturday with the leaders of three European powers and collectively with the heads of the three Baltic states, White House said.
The leaders agreed that Russia must pull its military forces in Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula back to bases it has there, allow access for international observers and human rights monitors and form a contact group to begin holding direct talks between Ukraine and Russia to reduce tensions in the region, the White House said.
Obama held individual conversations with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and French President Francois Hollande. He also held a conference call with Latvian President Andris Berzins, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
On the conference call, Obama reaffirmed the United States' "unwavering commitment" to its collective defense commitments under NATO and "enduring support for the security and democracy of our Baltic allies," the White House said. It said the Baltic leaders welcomed the additional support.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-continues-telephone-outreach-ukraine-22832676
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