German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande flew into Kiev on Thursday to present a new peace plan in the biggest diplomatic push yet to halt an upsurge in deadly fighting in eastern Ukraine. The two European leaders arrived hot on the heels of US Secretary of State John Kerry as Washington weighed sending arms for Kiev's fight with pro-Russian rebels.
The renewed efforts to end the 10-month conflict came as at least 21 people were killed in fresh clashes as the separatists attempt to push deeper into government-held territory. Kerry threw Washington's weight behind the latest peace initiative, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin had the power to end the bloodshed that has ravaged Ukraine.
"President Putin can make the choices that could end this war," Kerry said after meeting Ukrainian leaders, voicing support for the "helpful" Franco-German plan to be put to Putin on Friday. "There must be an immediate commitment now to a real cease-fire, which is not just a piece of paper with words, but which is followed by specific actions," Kerry told journalists.
Kerry added that US President Barack Obama would "soon" decide on whether to arm Ukraine, but stressed his preference for a diplomatic solution. "We are not interested in a proxy war, our objective is to change Russia's behaviour and we'll consider all options that are available to us in co-ordination with our partners that will help us achieve a negotiated solution," Kerry said.
Russia, itself accused of arming the separatists, warned that any US move to send weapons to Ukraine would cause "colossal damage" to ties, foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said. Kerry is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a security conference in Munich on Saturday. Hollande said in Paris before heading to Kiev that he and Merkel would "propose a new solution to the conflict based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine".
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