Russia's Lavrov warns of 'new round of bloodshed' in Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged a halt to Ukraine's military operation against separatist rebels in the east in a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, warning of "a new round of bloodshed." "Lavrov stressed that the decision by (Ukrainian) President Petro Poroshenko not to extend the ceasefire ... unleashes a new round of bloodshed, with unpredictable consequences for the Ukrainian state," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It said Kerry had given assurance, during a call initiated by the U.S. side, on Washington's desire to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict but "acknowledged differences in the approaches on how to achieve this." (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Janet Lawrence)