US-Russia talks over Ukraine ?useful? but no progress made

US and Russian diplomats have emerged from a day of negotiations in Geneva over the fate of Ukraine, describing the talks as "useful" and "very professional" - but also stressing they had not made progress towards resolving fundamental disagreements.

The two sides largely spent the eight hours of talks presenting their points of view on the situation in Ukraine, currently hemmed in by some 100,000 Russian troops, and on European security in general, and deferred further debate on them to a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday between Russia and all Nato members.

"We had useful discussions and exchanges today that will help inform our way forward," Wendy Sherman, the deputy US secretary of state and leader of the delegation in Geneva, told reporters after the day of talks.

Her Russian counterpart, Sergei Ryabkov, said: "The conversation was difficult, long, very professional, deep, concrete, without attempts to embellish or smooth over sharp corners.

"We have been left with the impression that the American side approached the Russian proposals very seriously, studied them in depth," Ryabkov said.

Sherman also remarked on the Russians' readiness to negotiate, saying they discussed "things that are not Russian priorities".

She said that the issues of reciprocal limits on military exercises and missile deployments were discussed, but the US ruled out as a matter of principle, the idea of a guarantee that Ukraine would never join Nato, restating that it was the country's sovereign right to decide.