Obama considers annexation of Crimea as 'improvisation' by Putin

02.02.2015 17:59

Ukrinform

KYIV, February 2 /Ukrinform/. U.S. President Barack Obama said that the U.S. would increase pressure on Russia because of the Ukrainian crisis and at the same time would help Kyiv to stabilize the country's economy and carry out reforms, CNN reported.

Obama also said that Washington does not abandon the opportunity of dialogue and a political solution to the conflict, stressing that the military conflict between the U.S. and Russia is not in the interests of Americans and the world.

In the interview, Obama also said that "Mr. Putin made this decision around Crimea and Ukraine - not because of some grand strategy, but essentially because he was caught off-balance by the protests in the Maidan and [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych then fleeing after we had brokered a deal to transition power in Ukraine."

"This improvisation that he's been doing has ... gotten him deeper and deeper into a situation that is a violation of international law, that violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Obama said.

Obama has once again condemned Russia's financial and military support to separatists.