Kerry, Lavrov meet as Ukraine death toll soars past 6,000

GENEVA: US Secretary of State John Kerry began tough talks in Geneva on Monday with his Russian counterpart to end fighting in Ukraine, where the UN says the death toll has soared beyond 6,000 people in less than a year.

The meeting with Sergei Lavrov in an upscale Geneva hotel came less than a week after Kerry accused Moscow of lying to his face about its involvement in the conflict, which has triggered the worst post-Cold War crisis between the US and its allies, and Russia.