The U.S. has tabled the military option in formulating its response to Russian actions in Ukraine, U.S. President Barack Obama said.
In an interview with San Diego television station KNSD, Obama said that a "military excursion" in Ukraine had been deemed inappropriate, and saying that "what we are going to do is mobilize all of our diplomatic resources to make sure that we've got a strong international coalition that sends a clear message, which is that Ukraine should decide their destiny," NBC News reported.
Obama said that Ukrainians themselves do not wish to see U.S. and Russian forces locked in conflict on their soil, since it would not be any better for Ukraine than the current situation.
He added that President Vladimir Putin's strategic calculations were based on weakness, rather than strength and "are no way based on whether he thought that we might go to war over this...I think there's a clear understanding that when it comes to our core interests or our NATO allies we can protect ourselves."
Obama reiterated the marks in a separate interview with St. Louis television channel KSDK, however he added that the U.S. and its allies were ready to take "even more disruptive economic actions."
Obama gave interviews to six local television stations on Wednesday.
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