(CNN) – President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin spent much of their time in their one conversation in recent days on Ukraine arguing about facts on the ground.
An Obama administration official says Putin, in the 90-minute phone call on Saturday, argued that the rights of ethnic Russians are being threatened.
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Obama responded that he was wrong, the official added.
Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a previous White House readout of the call.
And he told Putin any concerns about the treatment of ethnic Russians and minority populations in Ukraine should be addressed peacefully and through the United Nations.
More information about the conversation was provided to reporters at a briefing Tuesday during which the official predicted that Obama and his Russian counterpart would talk again soon.
On Putin's state of mind, the official disputed any notion the Russian leader was not thinking clearly.
The New York Times reported Monday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel described Putin as "in another world" in a phone call she had with Obama over the weekend.
Putin, the administration believes, is threatened by challenges to his influence, especially popular uprisings against governments that are supportive of the Russian leader, said the official who pointed to Russia's invasion of Georgia as an example of Putin's pattern of behavior.