Lavrov, Kerry urge for ceasefire, negotiation in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday called for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine's conflict zone as well as negotiations between the conflicting parties, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Russian and U.S. top foreign policy officials agreed that it was important to end the fight in the conflict zone immediately, and to start talks between the conflicting parties in compliance with the Geneva statement made by Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine on April 17," the ministry said.

The world has been appealing for all the relevant sides of the Ukraine crisis to facilitate and cooperate in the ongoing international investigation of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 crashed on July 17.

Russia invited observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to visit the Russian border checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk and expects them to arrive without delay, Lavrov said during the phone conversation with Kerry.

The minister urged Kerry "to instruct his subordinates not to hinder the OSCE in its work," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

Russia and Ukraine have been accusing each other of shelling on each other's territories. Russia announced Friday that the OSCE would send experts to monitor the situation at the Russian border and customs checkpoints.