DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday held direct talks on Ukraine in Paris on the sidelines of an international meeting on Lebanon.

A diplomatic source said, reports The Straits Times.

Kerry and Lavrov held discussions along with their German and French counterparts over coffee after lunch at the French presidential palace, a journalist witnessed.

A Western diplomatic source said the talks centred around the crisis in Ukraine and lasted for several minutes.

It was the first time Kerry and Lavrov had met since a pro-Moscow government in Ukraine was ousted, prompting the de facto takeover of the Crimean peninsula by pro-Moscow forces.

Western governments are pressing Lavrov to hold direct talks with the acting Ukrainian Foreign Minsiter during his time in Paris.

BDST: 2143 HRS, MAR 05, 2014