In a new push for peace in eastern Ukraine, the leaders of France and Germany announced Thursday they were heading to Kyiv and Moscow with a proposal to end the fighting. The surprise move appeared aimed at heading off U.S. considerations of giving Ukraine lethal military aid, something many European nations oppose.
The flurry of high-level diplomacy aimed to end the resurgent fighting in eastern Ukraine that is threatening European security.
Calling it a "very critical moment in our history," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warmly welcomed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
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In a joint news conference after their talks, Kerry urged Russia to show its commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Kerry called on Russia to cease its military support for the separatists and help bring them to the negotiation table.
"Our choice is diplomacy," he said, making no mention of the possibility of the U.S. providing Ukraine lethal military aid.
In Brussels, NATO foreign ministers prepared to boost the military alliance's forces Thursday in response to the fighting in Ukraine and Russia's increased military forcefulness.
Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces surged in January. The United Nations has sharply criticized both sides for their indiscriminate shelling and urged a temporary truce to halt the fighting that has killed over 5,300 people since April.
Members of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic gather Wednesday near an armoured vehicle destroyed during battles with the Ukrainian armed forces in Vuhlehirsk, Donetsk region. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuterrs)
At least three people were killed in overnight shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, local officials said Thursday, amid fierce fighting in several areas of eastern Ukraine.
France and Germany, meanwhile, hope this time they can come up with a peace deal that both Ukraine and Russia can agree to.
French President Francois Hollande said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would travel to Kyiv on Thursday and then to Moscow the following day with a proposal "based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine."
In a sign of the importance of the initiative, this will be Merkel's first trip to Moscow since Ukraine's conflict broke out a year ago.
"It will not be said that France and Germany together have not tried everything, undertaken everything, to preserve the peace," Hollande said.
A senior French government official said the two leaders decided Wednesday night on the trip and did not consult American officials about the plan. The official was not authorized to be named, according to French policy.
"Given the escalation of violence in the past days, the chancellor and President Hollande are intensifying their months-long efforts for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," Merkel spokesman Steffen Siebert said
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that Putin, Merkel and Hollande will discuss "what the three nations can do to help put a quick end to a civil war in southeastern Ukraine, which has exacerbated in recent days with mounting casualties."
Russia has vehemently denied that it is helping the rebels in Ukraine, while acknowledging that some Russians are fighting with the rebels. Western military experts say the sheer quantity of heavy weapons in rebel hands belies the claim that Moscow is not involved.
Kerry came to Ukraine to show support for its embattled government as the Obama administration weighs sending arms to Kyiv to help it fight Russian-backed separatists. The U.S. envoy brought $16.4 million in new U.S. humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but the government is anxious to reiterate its plea for lethal aid.
President Barack Obama has opposed the idea of sending weapons to Ukraine but sources in his administration say this position could change in the light of recent fighting.
Germany and other European nations remain fiercely opposed to sending arms to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reiterated that stance Thursday, saying it would not improve the situation if "we now bring more weapons to the region."
"By throwing more weapons on the bonfire, I don't believe, unfortunately, that we will solve the problems in Ukraine," Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard said in Copenhagen. "My advice is to continue the massive economic pressure on Russia to force them back to the negotiation table."
EU foreign ministers will be talking Monday about increasing sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the group's defence ministers on Thursday are expected to approve boosting the size of the alliance's Response Force from 13,000 to 30,000, in reaction to Russian actions in Ukraine.
Russia has expressed concerned about NATO's buildup in eastern Europe while defending a heavy military presence at its border with Ukraine.
Hollande appeared to be offering a nod to Putin on one of his key demands: that Ukraine stay out of NATO.
"France is not favourable to Ukraine's entry into NATO, let us be clear," Hollande said Thursday. "For the Russians who are worried ... we have to settle this problem among Europeans. We are on the same continent."
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