Kerry calls on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukrainian border

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Russia must pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border to deescalate the tension following Crimea’s takeover by Moscow.

“Any real progress in Ukraine must include a pullback of the very large Russian force that is currently massing along Ukraine’s borders,” Mr. Kerry said at a news conference in Paris on Sunday after four hours of talks with Lavrov.

“We believe that these forces are creating a climate of fear and intimidation in Ukraine. It certainly does not create the climate that we need for the dialogue and for the messages sent to both the international community as well as to Ukrainians themselves about the diplomatic channel,” he said.

Mr. Kerry said he and Mr. Lavrov made suggestions on how they can deescalate the security as well as the political situation in and around Ukraine.