OBAMA TO PUTIN: Stop Backing Ukrainian Separatists, Or Face More Punishment
New White House press secretary Josh Earnest confirmed the call to reporters at the White House's daily press briefing. He said Obama urged Putin to stop supporting pro-Russian separatists in southeastern Ukraine, where the U.S. says Russia has sent tanks and other arms in recent weeks. Obama warned that while a diplomatic solution was still possible, Russia would face additional "costs" if it didn't work to de-escalate the situation.
Earnest confirmed the call after initially saying he had no calls to read out to the press at the briefing. Earnest only announced the call when he was asked - after the Kremlin had disclosed it in a statement. The Kremlin said the two sides vaguely discussed the "prospects of resolving the situation."
The Obama-Putin call came as pro-Russia separatists backed a ceasefire proposed by newly installed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that will last until Friday.
A senior U.S. administration official said Friday that Russia had sent additional tanks, along with fuel trucks and supporting vehicles, across the border last week.
The official said the U.S. has picked up talks with the EU in recent days about potential "scalpel" sanctions against Russia. In early May, President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel explicitly threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with the possibility of crippling sectoral sanctions before the crisis in Ukraine seemed to calm down.
"The idea here is to deny Russia the kinds of investment and next-generation technology that it needs to continue to grow," the official said of the possible sanctions.