DHAKA: Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union have said that all sides have agreed to steps to "de-escalate" the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Their foreign ministers were speaking at the end of talks between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US in the Swiss city of Geneva, says BBC.        

Ukraine has been in crisis since its pro-Moscow president was toppled.      

Russia then annexed the Crimean peninsula - part of Ukraine but with a Russian-speaking majority population - in a move that provoked international outrage.

This was followed by the seizing of government buildings in eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists opposed to the new order in the capital Kiev.

BDST: 0400 HRS, APR 18, 2014