John Kerry

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to continue contacts in the interests of the soonest normalization of the situation in Ukraine.

Participants in Geneva's four-way meeting have agreed on measures to wind down tensions in the east and south of Ukraine.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) reaches out to shake hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the start of a bilateral meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine in Geneva April 17.

By Ian Bremmer *

Representatives of Ukraine, the EU, Russia and the US are to discuss the situation in Eastern and Southern Ukraine in Thursday's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

The diplomatic effort is virtually under way, as Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya was reported to have met EU's High Representative on Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton.

NATO has warned Russia that further intervention in Ukraine would be a "historic mistake" with grave consequences, reports BBC. 

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Moscow must pull back troops it has massed on the Ukrainian border.

Russia is ready to begin talks over Ukraine with the West and Kiev, its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Moscow could "consider a multilateral format in which Europeans, the US, Russia and the Ukrainian side are represented," Lavrov was quoted by ITAR-TASS agency as saying.

No decision on Ukraine's future could be taken without Kiev's involvement, US State Secretary John Kerry told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov has however ruled out Russia's recognition of the leadership in Kiev, which he once again described as "fascists", despite describing describing the conversation as "very constructive".

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday in London to discuss the situation in Crimea.

The meeting will be a last attempt to bring the conflicting sides closer, ahead of Sunday's referendum on the future status of the autonomous Ukrainian peninsula, Euronews reports.

The Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, will meet US Vice-President Joseph Biden during a three-day visit to Washington in March, focusing on the country’s NATO ambitions.

According to the media, Djukanovic and Biden will discuss Montenegro’s aspirations to become a full member of the Atlantic Alliance at the upcoming summit scheduled for September in Wales in the UK.

The prospects of financial assistance to Ukraine are to be discussed on Tuesday in Washington between UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and his counterpart John Kerry.