In a new push for peace in eastern Ukraine, the leaders of France and Germany announced Thursday they were heading to Kiev 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 Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.
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.
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Hollande appeared to be offering a nod to Putin on one of his key demands: that Ukraine stay out of NATO.
“France is not favorable 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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Corbet reported from Paris. David Rising in Berlin, Matthew Lee in Kiev, John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Jan Olsen in Copenhagen and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report.
