Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart John Kerry held talks in Geneva Monday to end fighting in Ukraine, where the United Nations says more than 6,000 have died in less than a year.
The two senior officials met for the first time since Kerry accused Russia of lying about its role in Ukraine’s war less than a week ago.
Kerry is also expected to discuss the murder of the Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in Moscow. Kerry will press for an investigation that he said should examine not only who pulled the trigger, but who ordered, funded and coordinated Nemtsov’s murder, AFP reported.
The murder of Nemtsov took place on a bridge in central Moscow overnight on Friday.
According to reports, the killer was allegedly waiting for him on the stairs of the bridge.
High-stakes talks between Kiev and Moscow were also set to get under way in Brussels to resolve a bitter gas dispute which threatens deliveries to Europe.
As relative quiet held on Ukraine’s frontlines, raising hopes that Kiev and pro-Russian rebels holding parts of the east were moving towards implementing a shaky ceasefire, the UN published a report that painted a bleak picture of developments in the country.
The swelling violence and dire living conditions have forced more and more people to flee, and by mid-February, at least one million people had been registered as internally displaced inside Ukraine.
