Obama, Putin Briefly Speak About Syria, Ukraine
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke briefly on November 20 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru about Syria and Ukraine, a White House official said.
The official said the conversation lasted about four minutes.
"The president urged President Putin to uphold Russia's commitments under the Minsk agreements, underscoring the U.S. and our partners' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty," the official said.
The official added that Obama also called for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to keep working in initiative with other countries to lower violence in Syria and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Saturday, November 19. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.