Mediaboss Marketing

ROME -- President Barack Obama called on Russia Friday to pull its troops back from the Ukrainian border. Later Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Obama to discuss a diplomatic solution.

In an interview with CBS News, Obama said the world is unified in opposing and condemning what he called Russia's illegal occupation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. That occupation started last month.

Pentagon correspondent David Martin is reporting the Russians are massing another 40,000 to 50,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, with all they need for combat operations. In Friday's interview, Obama sent a message to Russia.

President Barack Obama speaks with Scott Pelley in Rome.

CBS News

And in either case, what we need right now to resolve and de-escalate the situation would be for Russia to move back those troops and to begin negotiations directly with the Ukrainian government, as well as the international community.

SCOTT PELLEY: What is Vladimir Putin after?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: If you take him at his word, then --

PELLEY: Can you?

OBAMA: Well, on this I think he's been willing to show a deeply held grievance about what he considers to be the loss of the Soviet Union. ... I think there's a strong sense of Russian nationalism and a sense that somehow the West has taken advantage of Russia in the past, and that he wants to, in some fashion, reverse that or make up for that.

Follow this link:

Obama calls on Russia to pull troops back from Ukraine border