Ukraine holds talks on marking out 'buffer zone' with rebels

Ukrainian soldiers stand next to a tank near Donetsk, September 16, 2014. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

KIEV (Reuters) - Talks began on Friday to mark out a 30-km (19-mile) buffer zone between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the country's east, but Moscow was coy about its role and denied that Russian military officials had taken part.

A statement by the military in Kiev said a Ukrainian team met a 76-member group of Russian officers north of the major Ukrainian city of Donetsk to work on establishing the zone, designed to put government and separatist forces out of striking range of each other.