Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned US against taking "hasty" action or imposing sanctions over Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned US against taking "hasty" action or imposing sanctions over Ukraine.

In a telephone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry, the two men "Lavrov warned against hasty and unthought-through steps capable of causing harm to Russian-US relations, especially sanctions that will inevitably have a boomerang effect against the US itself,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

The two men followed up on their talks in Paris and Rome that had failed to lead to an agreement on how to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

The two diplomatic chiefs "agreed to continue looking at the problems of the sharp political crisis that has seized this country,” the ministry added.

A senior US State Department official said that Kerry "underscored the importance of finding a constructive way to resolve the situation diplomatically, which would address the interests of the people of Ukraine, Russia and the international community.  

"Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov agreed to continue to consult in the days ahead on the way forward."

Kerry then spoke to Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to tell him what he and Lavrov discussed.

US President Barack Obama on Thursday talked by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour about Ukraine, including a visa ban and possible further sanctions against Russian officials, the White House said.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Washington was discussing with its partners the formation of some kind of contact group, even though Moscow is likely to be distrustful of outside engagement.