U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Friday that a deal aimed at halting bloody clashes between government forces and protesters in Ukraine needs to be implemented quickly so that the country stabilizes, a U.S. official said.
The two leaders spoke by phone after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leaders signed a European Union-mediated peace deal.
'They agreed that the agreement reached today needed to be implemented quickly, that it was very important to encourage all sides to refrain from violence, that there was a real opportunity here for a peaceful outcome,' a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters on a conference call.
The White House said details of the agreement are consistent with what the United States had been urging, such as a de-escalation of the violence, constitutional change, a coalition government and early elections.
The State Department official warned, however, that the deal remains 'very, very fragile,' and said international support will be needed to help stabilize the country.
'This has been a very tough sell and will continue to be a tough sell for the opposition to make to those on the streets. This is not least because of the horrible, horrible violence of the last two days,' the official said.
Tony Blinken, deputy national security adviser, said in a CNN interview that the Obama administration had made clear .