US President Barack Obamahas urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from near Ukraine border area.
Obama urged during a telephone conversation with Putin, reports Aljazeera.
The telephone conversation is believed to be the first direct contact between the two leaders since the takeover of Crimea.
According to the report, the White House said on Saturday that the telephone call was made to ease tensions in the area by removing troops and in order to get a respond to proposals for diplomatic solutions which were put forward by the US earlier this week.
The Kremlin said Putin has warned Obama of the interim government of Ukraine allowing a “rampage of extremists” and suggested “possible steps by the international community to help stabilise the situation”.
The telephone conversation is believed to have been the first between Obama and Putin since the US and the EU began imposing sanctions on Russia over the takeover of the peninsula.
Earlier, Putin ordered the troops to assemble by the border with Ukraine, with the US estimating on Friday that his total forces in Crimea numbered about 40,000.
Obama had told CBS news that Russian troops were massing along that border under the guise of military exercises.
He insisted that Russia moves back those troops to begin negotiations with the Ukrainian government and international community.