Putin Seeks Diplomacy in Ukraine: No More Military

Local Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin called his American counterpart Barack Obama Friday to discuss a US proposal for a diplomatic end to the Ukraine crisis while insisting to the United Nations that Moscow had "no intention" of further military action.

The White House said Putin phoned Obama following a bid presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week.



"President Obama suggested that Russia put a concrete response in writing," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Obama and Putin had agreed that Kerry and Lavrov would meet to "discuss next steps."

The details of the US initiative were not disclosed, but a White House statement said Obama had reiterated his determination to seek a diplomatic solution.
"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," it said.

A senior administration official later noted that previous discussions about a possible solution had addressed issues such as the deployment of international monitors, the pull back of Russian forces and direct a Russia-Ukraine dialogue
Putin confirmed for the first time Friday that his forces were directly involved in Crimea -- the initial step of what the new pro-Western leaders in Kiev fear is a plan to annex an even greater part of Ukraine.

However, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Putin had assured him Russia was not planning further military action in the region.
Ban said Putin told him "he had no intention to make any military move."
He did, however, "express his concern about some extreme radical elements and any such movement along the border lines," according to the UN chief.
Obama had told US broadcaster CBS earlier there was clear evidence of a Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border.

Obama said the Russian military buildup "may simply be an effort to intimidate Ukraine or it may be that they have got additional plans."

The Kremlin chief -- more popular at home now than at any point since his 2012 election to a third term -- approved of the decision in nationally televised news footage that also showed him congratulating the troops involved in the Crimea swoop.

"The recent events in Crimea... demonstrated the new capacities of our armed forces," Putin said.

The seemingly offhand remark carried great weight because Putin had previously insisted that only "local self-defense forces" were involved in the rapid succession of raids on Ukraine's army and naval installations.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team