WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday about the situation in Ukraine and discussed a potential resolution to the crisis, a senior Obama administration official said.
The officials also said Obama would not attend a G8 summit scheduled for Sochi, Russia, in June unless there is a Russian reversal in the Ukraine crisis.
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Obama has discussed with Putin what officials call an off-ramp for the Russians to the Ukraine crisis in which Russia would pull its forces in Crimea back to their bases and allow international monitors to ensure the rights of ethnic Russians are protected, the official said.
Obama also discussed with Merkel the potential solution, which would also involve the Russians engaging directly with the new government in Ukraine, the official said.
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Before You Go
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Protestors inspect damage caused by recent anti-government protests on Independence Square following recent clashes in Kiev, Ukraine, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. Violence is escalating in the country of 45 million as the Russian-backed leader's security service conducts a nationwide anti-terrorism operation to end the three-month uprising.
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Protesters catch fire as they stand behind burning barricades during clashes with police on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev. Ukraine's embattled leader announced a 'truce' with the opposition as he prepared to get grilled by visiting EU diplomats over clashes that killed 26 and left the government facing diplomatic isolation. The shocking scale of the violence three months into the crisis brought expressions of grave concern from the West and condemnation of an 'attempted coup' by the Kremlin.
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A wounded anti-government protester is treated by medics near Independence Square on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev, Ukraine. After several weeks of calm, violence has again flared between anti-government protesters and police, with dozens killed.
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AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
An anti-government protester is engulfed in flames during clashes with riot police outside Ukraine's parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014.
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A demonstrator stands on a balcony overlooking Independence square during the face-off against heavily armed police on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev. Armed protesters stormed police barricades in Kiev on Thursday in renewed violence that killed at least 26 people and shattered an hours-old truce as EU envoys held crisis talks with Ukraine's embattled president. Bodies of anti-government demonstrators lay amid smoldering debris after masked protesters hurling Molotov cocktails and stones forced police from Kiev's iconic Independence Square.
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A wounded anti-government protester is carried to a waiting ambulance on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev, Ukraine. After several weeks of calm, violence has again flared between anti-government protesters and police, with dozens killed.
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Dead bodies lay covered on the ground during clashes with riot police in central Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev. At least 26 protesters were killed on Feb. 20 in fresh clashes between thousands of demonstrators and heavily armed riot police in the heart of Kiev, AFP correspondents at the scene said.
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Anti-government protesters clash with police in the center of Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014.
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Anti-government protesters clear ashes and debris from a newly occupied portion of Independence Square on Feb. 20, 2014, in Kiev, Ukraine.
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An anti-government protester sits on the Founders of Kiev monument during clashes with riot police in central Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014. At least 26 protesters were killed on Feb. 20 in fresh clashes between thousands of demonstrators and heavily-armed riot police in the heart of Kiev, AFP correspondents at the scene said.
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Anti-government protesters stand behing their burning barricades during clashes with police in the center of Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014. At least 25 protesters were killed on Feb. 20 in fresh clashes between thousands of demonstrators and heavily armed riot police in the heart of Kiev, Agence France-Presse correspondents at the scene said. The bodies of eight demonstrators were lying outside Kiev's main post office on Independence Square, an AFP reporter said. The bodies of 17 other demonstrators with apparent gunshot wounds were also seen in the vicinity of two hotels on opposite sides of the protest encampment.
AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic
An anti-government protester holds a crucifix as he prays at Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on Feb. 20, 2014. Ukraine's protest leaders and the president they aim to oust called a truce on Feb. 19, just hours after the military raised fears of a widespread crackdown with a vow to defeat "terrorists" responsible for seizing weapons and burning down buildings.
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A heavily injured anti-government protestor is carried by fellow demonstrators during clashes with riot police in central Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014.
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Anti-government protesters stand behind a 'wall of smoke' during clashes with police in the center of Kiev on Feb. 20, 2014. At least 25 protesters were killed on Feb. 20 in fresh clashes between thousands of demonstrators and heavily armed riot police in the heart of Kiev, Agence France-Presse correspondents at the scene said.