Ukraine: diplomats meet in Geneva in bid to ease crisis - live coverage.
Source: Guardian
Meanwhile, the talks in Geneva have started. Julian Borger is there covering for the Guardian. He has just sent this:
c. 9.37 BST
The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, met the Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia, last night. This morning the US secretary of state, John Kerry, met Ashton and Deschytsia separately and has just started a bilateral meeting with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister.
Lavrov arrived at about 10am Geneva time in the Intercontinental Hotel, the scene of last year's successful Iran nuclear talks, where all today's negotiations will take place. It is not clear whether Deshchytsia and Lavrov will meet separately before the plenary session of the talks begins at 11am.
After meeting Kerry, Deshchytsia said that he came with "optimism and goodwill", but those two qualities appear to be in short supply today in Geneva, where all sides are playing down expectations.
Kerry and Ashton are pushing Deshchytsia to stress how far Kiev is prepared to go in offering local rights and fiscal autonomy to the provinces short of embracing the federalism that Moscow is asking for. Kiev and the west see that as a veil for partition.
The talks are due to wrap up around 3pm, when there will be some form of press conference though it is not clear who will take part, and what there will be to say.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/ukraine-diplomats-meet-in-geneva-in-bid-to-ease-crisis-live-coverage
This will constantly be updated throughout the day.