Putin Warns against Further Escalation of Ukraine Unrest

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for a rapid return to normality in Ukraine and warned against any further escalation of unrest, in telephone calls with key EU leaders, the Kremlin said.

Putin emphasized "the extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalization of the situation," the Kremlin said after Putin had separate phone calls with British premier David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Union president Herman van Rompuy.

Putin reassured Cameron that he respects Ukraine's sovereignty and said military exercises near the border were pre-planned, the UK premier's office said.

The two leaders also agreed that "free and fair elections" were the best way to resolve the crisis in the ex-Soviet state, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

"The prime minister emphasized that all countries should respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," she said.

"President Putin agreed, stressing that Russian military exercises in the area had been planned before the current situation in Ukraine."

She added: "They agreed that the free and fair elections that the interim government has pledged to hold are the best way to secure a positive future for Ukraine in which all Ukrainian people are represented.

"A future that would not involve forcing the Ukrainian people to make a choice between Europe and Russia."