Obama Meets National Security Team on Ukraine Options

U.S. President Barack Obama met with his national security team Saturday to weigh policy options after Russia's parliament endorsed military action in Ukraine, a White House official said.

Senior members of the Washington national security establishment, including General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were earlier seen heading into the White House for the rare Saturday meeting.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Saturday after Moscow approved sending troops into Ukraine following a bloody three-month uprising there.

"Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel spoke to his Russian counterpart this morning," a U.S. defense official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. Hagel then went to the White House for a meeting on the crisis. Officials said there was "no change" to the U.S. military's presence in the region.