GENEVA, April 17. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry had a meeting in this Swiss city on Thursday before the start of talks on Ukraine.

They shook hands under the camera flashlights, and after that talks continued behind closed doors.

Talks at the level of top diplomats of Russia, US and the European Union and the interim Ukrainian foreign minister are expected to begin at around 11 a.m. local time (9:00 GMT), will last about two hours and then will continue at a working lunch.