President Barack Obama assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that Washington remains committed to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and also called on Israel and the Palestinians to compromise to reach a US-brokered peace framework.
In a meeting at the White House, Netanyahu told Obama that no country has a greater stake than Israel in keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state. But he made no mention in front of reporters of Israeli concerns that Washington may be giving up too much in diplomacy with Iran.
"It's difficult, it requires compromise on all sides," Obama said of faltering efforts to reach Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Commenting on the situation in Ukraine, Obama said that Russia has violated international law in its military intervention in Ukraine and said the US government has warned it will look at a series of economic and diplomatic sanctions that would isolate Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to allow international monitors to mediate a deal in Ukraine acceptable to all Ukrainian people, Obama told reporters before he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Over time this will be a costly proposition for Russia. And now is the time for them to consider whether they can serve their interests in a way that resorts to diplomacy as opposed to force," Obama said.