Ukraine crisis: Leaders push for peace in new diplomatic effort

Diplomatic efforts are under way to end renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are heading to the capital Kiev to present a new peace initiative.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is also in Kiev, said the US wanted a diplomatic solution, but would not close its eyes to Russian aggression.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels has killed more than 5,000 people since last April.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and sending regular troops across the border. Russia denies direct involvement but says some Russian volunteers are fighting alongside the rebels.
Speaking in a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Kerry said it was a “critical moment for this region, for this country, for the prospects of peace”.
“We want a diplomatic resolution but we cannot close our eyes to tanks that are crossing the border from Russia and coming into Ukraine,” he said.
US President Barack Obama is said to be considering sending “defensive” weapons to Ukraine. The US is currently only providing “non-lethal” assistance.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said any decision by the US to supply weapons to Ukraine would “inflict colossal damage to Russian-American relations”.
Several senior Western officials have also expressed concern at the prospect of US arms being sent to Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier likened the option to “throwing more weapons on the bonfire”, while Nato commander Philip Breedlove said governments must take into account that the move “could trigger a more strident reaction from Russia”.
Meanwhile, Hollande said that he and Mrs Merkel would present a new peace proposal based on the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine, which could be “acceptable to all”. However, he warned that diplomacy “cannot go on indefinitely”. “Ukraine is at war.
Heavy weapons are being used and civilians are being killed daily,” the French leader said. Hollande and Mrs Merkel will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.
A spokesman for the Kremlin said Mr Putin would discuss “the fastest possible end to the civil war in south-eastern Ukraine”.
The talks in Kiev come as Nato unveils details of a plan to bolster its military presence in Eastern Europe in response to the Ukraine crisis. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg says it will be the biggest reinforcement of its collective defence since the end of the Cold War.