U.S. says needs to see hard evidence Russia ready to engage on Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States needs to see concrete evidence Russia is ready to engage on U.S. diplomatic proposals to end the crisis in Ukraine following Russia's bloodless seizure of Crimea, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday. Separately, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters it was conceivable U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry might meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week but he wanted to ensure Russia would engage seriously on U.S. diplomatic proposals. "He (Kerry) never shies away from hopping on a plane or having an in-person meeting, but we want to ensure that that is undertaken with seriousness on the other end as well," she said when asked if there was the possibility of a Kerry-Lavrov meeting this week. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed)