U.S. President Barack Obama (front L) is escorted from Marine One to Air Force One as he departs Saudi Arabia to return to Washington, March 29, 2014.
U.S. President Barack Obama is enroute to Washington, on Saturday, after wrapping up a week-long diplomatic trip to the Middle East and Europe.
During the last leg of his trip, Obama met with Saudi King Abdullah.
Their meeting near Riyadh, on Friday, focused mostly on tensions spawned by Syria's civil war and Iran's nuclear program.
Before leaving Riyadh, the president presented the U.S. State Department's Women of Courage award to Maha al-Muneef. He honored the Saudi activist for her role in combating domestic violence.
"Dr. al-Muneef has been able to not only set up services here in the Kingdom but also more importantly in some ways, been able to pass laws providing protections for women and children for domestic abuse and to provide a safe space and shelter for those who are suffering from domestic abuse," he said.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Obama to discuss a U.S. proposal for resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
The White House says Obama suggested that Putin offer a written response to a diplomatic solution that Secretary of State John Kerry presented to his Russian counterpart earlier in the week.
In an interview aired on CBS, Friday, Obama said Russia's military moves near the Ukrainian border may be an effort to intimidate Ukraine.
Crimea's majority Russian residents voted to break away from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum earlier this month that Western powers deemed illegal.
Obama will make a brief stop in Germany before returning to Washington late Saturday.
Developments in Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula
Developments in Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula
1/12People stand outside a closed McDonalds restaurant. The fast food restaurant chain announced this week that it is shuttering its three outlets in the Crimean peninsula over unspecified operations issues, Simferopol, Crimea, April 4, 2004.
2/12People gather outside a currency exchange office in the Crimean city of Simferopol, April 4, 2014.
3/12People stand in line as they wait to enter a branch of the Sberbank of Russia bank in the Crimean city of Simferopol, April 4, 2014.
4/12Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said during an interview with Reuters that the Kyiv government will stick to unpopular austerity measures "as the price of independence" as Russia steps up pressure on Ukraine to destabilize, Kyiv, April 3, 2014.
5/12Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov visits a military exhibition near the settlement of Desna in Chernigov region, Ukraine, April 2, 2014.
6/12Ukrainian soldiers watch as an army medic helicopter flies above during a military exhibition near the settlement of Desna in Chernigov region, April 2, 2014.
7/12People pass by barricades near the Dnipro Hotel in Kyiv, April 1, 2014.
8/12Self-defense activists pass by the Dnipro Hotel in Kyiv, April 1, 2014.
9/12Members of the Ukrainian far-right radical group Right Sector leave their headquarters in Dnipro Hotel as police special forces stand guard, Kyiv, April 1, 2014.
10/12Commuters walk along railway lines next to Ukrainian tanks ready to depart from Crimea near Simferopol, March 31, 2014.
11/12Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visits Crimea to consider priorities for its economic development, Simferopol, March 31, 2014.
12/12Ukrainians, in accordance with Orthodox Church tradition of marking the 40th day since death, remember those who lost their lives during pro-Europe protests in Kyiv, March 30, 2014.
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