Russia's Lavrov says Moscow, Washington to work with Ukraine

PARIS (Reuters) - Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that Moscow and Washington had agreed to work with the Ukrainian government and the country's people to overcome the crisis, after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian agencies reported. "We have agreed to work with the Ukrainian government and people to achieve progress in rights of minorities and linguistic rights," Lavrov told reporters after talks that lasted four hours, Interfax reported. Lavrov and Kerry met following a phone call between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week, as both sides move to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. He also said Russia and the United States agreed it was necessary to seek "points of tangency" in order to reach a common position on the diplomatic resolution of the crisis. (Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk, writing by Megan Davies)