Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday asked his Russian counterpart to reduce the levels of violence in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops have intervened on the side of separatist militias in their ongoing clash with the Ukrainian government, according to POLITICO.
"Underscoring the U.S. concern with the rising violence in eastern Ukraine, the secretary requested that Russia return its representatives to the Joint Center on Coordination and Control and lower the level of violence," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement emailed to reporters Wednesday, POLITICO reported.
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In response, Russia quickly annexed Crimea away from Ukraine, a step that most nations have refused to recognize as legitimate. The Kremlin has also continued to aid pro-Russia fighters in the eastern part of Ukraine, where ties to Russia are stronger.
Nauert's statement also said Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and to support negotiations toward a peaceful end to the ongoing civil war in Syria, where the U.S. and Russia have supported opposing sides.