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France said Western powers agreed on Tuesday that a "strong reaction" would be necessary from the international community if a ceasefire in Ukraine agreed last month was violated. The statement from the office of President Francois Hollande came after leaders of France, Britain, the United States, Germany and Italy, as well as the head of the European Commission, discussed the Ukraine crisis in a video conference. "They have agreed that a strong reaction from the international community would be necessary in case of a major breach of the process put in place in Minsk," said the statement about the deal signed on Feb 12.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to offer an alternative in his speech to the U.S. Congress on the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, a senior U.S. administration official said on Tuesday. "Simply demanding that Iran completely capitulate is not a plan, nor would any country support us in that position. Netanyahu warned Congress against accepting a deal with Iran that President Barack Obama and his administration are deeply invested in negotiating, arguing that the deal would leave Iran with a "breakout time" of a year, which he said was too short. The senior U.S. official said that the administration was pursuing a deal that "verifiably prevents" Iran from obtaining a weapon, and increases the breakout time "substantially" to a year from the current estimate of two to three months.