WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House on Monday said there was "overwhelming evidence" that Russia is fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, but suggested that President Barack Obama has not yet concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions warrant broader sanctions on key Russian economic sectors.
"We are actively evaluating what is happening in eastern Ukraine, what actions Russia has taken, what transgressions they've engaged in," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "And we are working with our partners and assessing for ourselves what response we may choose."
Obama and Putin spoke Monday for the first time in more than two weeks. The Kremlin said Putin urged Obama to discourage the Ukrainian government from using force against protesters in the country's east, while also rejecting Western claims that Russian agents were involved in the protests.
The White House confirmed that the two leaders spoke, but did not immediately provide details of the conversation.
Administration officials did confirm that CIA chief John Brennan visited the Ukrainian capital of Kiev over the weekend, breaking with the administration's typical practice of not disclosing the director's travel. Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych accused Brennan of being behind Ukraine's decision to send troops into the east to try to quash an increasingly brazen pro-Russian insurgency.
While U.S. officials denied those accusations, confirmation of Brennan's visit could provide fodder for Russian officials to create a pretext for further incursions into eastern Ukraine.