Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a proposal for a diplomatic resolution to the Ukrainian crisis, the White House said in a readout of the call.
Obama asked Russia to "put a concrete response in writing" to the U.S.'s proposal for a diplomatic solution and agreed that Secretary of State John Kerry would then meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to discuss the proposal.
The Kremlin gave a very different version of the call. Though it said Putin "suggested examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilise the situation," the Kremlin also said Putin drew Obama's attention to "continued rampage of extremists who are committing acts of intimidation towards peaceful residents" in various regions of Ukraine.
The call came as Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border, reportedly bringing the total near 40,000.
A U.S. intelligence report on Wednesday warned of a "more probable" Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Obama, Putin Phone Call On Ukraine - Business Insider