Britain to try 'every diplomatic opportunity' for Ukraine crisis

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has vowed to try "every diplomatic opportunity" to de-escalate crisis in Ukraine.

"We are trying to use every diplomatic opportunity to bring Russia and Ukraine into direct contact with each other at a senior level to make sure that the governments of Russia and Ukraine are talking to each other," Xinhua quoted Hague as saying at a press conference Wednesday.

The press conference came after he met US Secretary of State John Kerry and interim Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya in Paris.

Hague called for the establishment of a "contact group" to facilitate talks over the Ukraine stalemate.

"We will at all times keep our channels of communication to Russia open," he said.

Hague also underlined the importance for the European Council to "demonstrate that there are costs and consequences to Russia", warning that the "consequences" may happen both in the short term and in the long term.