Geneva - The chief diplomats from the United States and Russia, John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, met Monday in Geneva to discuss the Ukraine crisis as the UN said the conflict had taken more than 6 000 lives.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council, Kerry and Lavrov also discussed the conflicts in the Middle East, as well as Iran's nuclear talks with world powers, diplomats said.
The death toll among combatants and civilians in eastern Ukraine had climbed by several hundred shortly before the ceasefire between the army and pro-Russian separatists went into effect last month, said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
His latest Ukraine report painted a picture of “merciless devastation of civilian lives and infrastructure,” he said.
Zeid highlighted the recent series of terrorist attacks that had taken place in Kharkiv, Odessa and possibly also in Mariupol.
“Should this trend continue, this would represent a new and very deadly chapter in this conflict, expanding the areas where the rule of law and the protection of human rights are effectively absent,” he said.
Kerry, Lavrov and several other foreign ministers were scheduled to address the UN rights body on Monday.
Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier was set to hold a speech there on Tuesday.
Sapa-dpa