US President Barack Obama spoke with UK Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the situations in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the status of the P5+1 talks with Iran taking place in Vienna, the White House announced on Sunday night.
On Ukraine, Obama and Cameron expressed concern about the increasing tensions and ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine, and agreed on the need for Russia to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation, the announcement said.
"These steps have already been clearly conveyed to Russia and include the need to enforce a bilateral cease-fire to be observed by the Russian-supported separatists, an immediate halt to the flow of Russian weapons and fighters across the border, the establishment of an effective OSCE border-monitoring mechanism, a road map for Contact Group talks, and the release of all hostages," the statement said, referring to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
"So far, neither the United States nor the United Kingdom have seen progress on complying with these conditions," it added.
The two agreed Europe and the United States should take further coordinated measures to impose costs on Russia if it does not take immediate steps toward de-escalation, the statement said.
Concerning Afghanistan, the two welcomed recent progress toward resolving the election impasse and "agreed to continue to urge all parties to play constructive and helpful roles leading to the peaceful and democratic transition of power in Afghanistan," the statement said.
On the P5+1 (Permanent 5 members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) talks with Iran, Obama and Cameron agreed "on the need for Iran to take the necessary steps to assure the international community that its nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful, and reaffirmed their commitment to make progress toward a sustainable agreement," the statement said.
With regard to Iraq, the two "agreed to keep working with all parties to form an inclusive and representative government that can work to promote the interests of all Iraqis," it said.