US President Obama calls Russia's Putin amid crises in Syria, Ukraine

US President Obama calls Russia's Putin amid crises in Syria, Ukraine

(Vatican Radio)  The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed to intensify joint diplomatic efforts and military cooperation to implement a ceasefire as well as aid deliveries in Syria, while they also discussed ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine.

Russian President Putin’s office said that his American counterpart Obama initiated the phone call as both leaders are concerned about Syria and fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.

In a statement the Kremlin said that Putin asked Obama to help create a united international front against global terrorism.

Russian President Putin reportedly said that closer contacts were needed between U.S. and Russian military officials to successfully counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist networks operating in Syria and other countries.

However the West has expressed concern that Russian air strikes in Syria mainly target rebel groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that many civilians have been killed as a result.

Russia denies

Moscow has denied the accusations and warned that plans to send international ground forces to Syria could lead to World War Three.

The Kremlin also said that Putin told Obama that he hopes authorities in Ukraine will "promptly fulfill their obligations" under what is known as the Minsk peace process to help end the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and Russia-backed separatists.

He spoke shortly after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a security conference in Munich that Moscow has failed to implement its obligations under the peace deal, including the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and handing over to Kiev complete control over Ukraine's borders.

At the same gathering Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sharply criticized his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, saying the security of Europe and the world are at stake in Ukraine. "Mr. Putin, [Foreign Minister] Mr. Lavrov [Prime Minister] Mr. Medvedev, this is your aggression in Ukraine," he said.

"And we do not give you any tiny opportunity to provide here...Kremlin style propaganda [aimed at] poisoning the opinion of the European people," Poroshenko added. "The only thing which need to be done is remove your troops from Ukrainian territory both from Donbass [region] and Crimea [peninsula]," he explained.

Poroshenko stressed that Russia should "return control" to Kiev over Ukraine's borders, "release all hostages" because "we don't want tensions, no escalation, no war in this region. So this is completely your responsibility."

Moscow claims it is not sending troops and weapons to pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, though the NATO military alliance claims to have evidence of Russian military movements in the region.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said over the weekend that the East-West tensions have turned into a new Cold War. It was not immediately whether Sunday's phone call between Obama and Putin has contributed to warmer relations between the two powers.

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