Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry have ended crisis talks on Ukraine - but there's no sign of whether progress was made.

The meeting in Paris was hastily set up after President Vladimir Putin phoned President Barack Obama on Friday.

Earlier Mr Lavrov categorically denied any plans for an invasion.

But he has stressed Moscow will protect the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers.

The US today ordered its top general in Europe to return early from a trip to Washington.