Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday that US involvement in resolving the conflict in Ukraine would be a "step in the right direction", after meeting with his US counterpart John Kerry in Beijing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday that US involvement in resolving the conflict in Ukraine would be a "step in the right direction", after meeting with his US counterpart John Kerry in Beijing.

"Our positions on what is happening in Ukraine do not correspond with the United States, but if Washington is interested in contributing to the reconciliation of the situation and creating dialogue between Kiev and the rebel leadership... I think that would be a step in the right direction," the top Russian said in comments shown on state television.

The United States should discourage "hot heads" among Kiev's leadership from resuming a full-scale conflict with the pro-Russian separatists, Lavrov added.

Kiev on Friday accused Russia of sending troops and tanks across the border to help the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 4,000 people since April.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said there had been no independent confirmation of the incursion.

When asked for information about the allegations, Lavrov said: "If Psaki doesn't have it, I don't."

Russia and the United States have been at loggerheads over Ukraine since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula following nationwide referendum over independence in March.