Obama blasts Putin in tense call

US President Barack Obama has accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of failing to offer a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

According to Press TV citing a senior administration official, in a phone conversation on Monday, Obama said Russia’s actions in Ukraine were not conducive.

The official said, “The president made clear that the diplomatic path was open and our preferred way ahead, but that Russia’s actions are neither consistent with or conducive to that.”

Obama told Putin that Kiev had made “real offers” to address concerns about the decentralization of powers to local governments in the country.

In response, Putin rejected Western claims that Moscow is behind attacks on government buildings, saying they were “based on unfounded information.”

Earlier Putin’s spokesman said Russia had received several appeals for help from anti-Kiev protesters, who are seeking to follow in the footsteps of the Crimean Peninsula and force a referendum on joining the Russian Federation, Sky News reported.