A Ukrainian government soldier guards a checkpoint in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Friday, May 16, 2014
The White House is welcoming moves by pro-Russian insurgents to leave government buildings they had seized in eastern Ukraine.
Spokesman Jay Carney calls it a "welcome development."
Local patrols by steelworkers have forced the pro-Russian insurgents to pull out of the government buildings they had seized in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol . The move is a setback to forces that have established footholds in eastern Ukraine and are opposed to the interim Ukrainian government in Kiev.
Carney says a halt to destabilizing activities, such as the seizure of buildings, is a good development in the tense situation between Ukraine and Russia.