Barack Obama has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a tense phone call that Moscow would face further costs for its actions in Ukraine and should use its influence to get separatists in the country to stand down.
Armed pro-Russian separatists seized more buildings in eastern Ukraine earlier in the day, expanding their control after the government failed to follow through on a threatened military crackdown.
In a call on Monday night that the White House said Moscow requested, the US president told Putin that those forces were threatening to undermine and destabilise the government in Kiev.
"The president emphasised that all irregular forces in the country need to lay down their arms, and he urged president Putin to use his influence with these armed, pro-Russian groups to convince them to depart the buildings they have seized," the White House said in a statement. » | Reuters | Tuesday, April 15, 2014
