You're reading: Obama, Merkel: Russian humanitarian convoy is to leave Ukraine’s territory

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone and expressed concern at the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, reads a statement of the White House.

According to the report, they stressed the importance of a bilateral ceasefire accompanied by closure of the border and effective border monitoring.

Obama and Merkel agreed that it is imperative that Russia remove its convoy from Ukrainian territory, accept the conditions previously agreed to with Ukraine and the International Red Cross for any humanitarian convoys in Ukraine, and de-escalates the situation by removing its military forces from the border region, withdrawing its weapons, vehicles and personnel from the territory of Ukraine, and stopping the flow of Russian personnel, military equipment and armored vehicles into eastern Ukraine.