LOC09:29
06:29 GMT
WASHINGTON, April 18 (KUNA) -- Echoing his discussion with Germany's Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama also spoke via phone to British Prime Minister David Cameron late Thursday about Moscow's growing presence in eastern Ukraine.
According to the White House readout of the call, both leaders said they "are prepared to take further measures to impose costs on Russia" if it does not pull back both its troops and other pro-Kremlin groups from the region.
Obama and Cameron stressed the need for Russia "to take immediate, concrete actions to de-escalate the situation by using its influence over the irregular forces in eastern Ukraine to get them to lay down their arms and leave the buildings they have seized."
Following the Geneva meeting that included US, EU, Russian, and Ukrainian senior officials earlier in the day, Obama lauded Kiev's efforts to "put forward constructive proposals to expand local governance and ensure the rights of all Ukrainians are protected". (end)
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