Obama, EU Leaders discuss Ukraine crisis

imgU.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders held a video conference on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, and France said all agreed that a “strong reaction” would be necessary if the ceasefire reached last month in Minsk was violated.
The talk held at 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT) between Obama and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as well as the head of the European Council, was also to cover global security issues, the White House said.
The video conference came amid continuing violence in Ukraine despite the two-week-old ceasefire agreement, as leaders weigh the role for observers and peacekeepers and the possibility of further sanctions on Russia for supporting Ukrainian rebels.
The United States has also said it is still considering the possibility of sending Kiev defensive weapons.
The office of French President Francois Hollande said in a statement that the parties reiterated their support for the Minsk deal.
“They have agreed that a strong reaction from the international community would be necessary in case of a major breach of the process put in place in Minsk,” the statement read.
It also said the parties wanted to bolster the resources of monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a European rights and security watchdog.

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