The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held a joint telephone call this morning, the German government says. The call follows Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande’s visit to Moscow, where they attempted to hammer out a peace plan with Vladimir Putin.
Work to resolve the crisis will continue on Monday, a government spokesperson said as reported by Reuters. Wednesday may see a meeting in the Belarus capital of Minsk between the countries in the ‘Normandy Four’ format.
The high profile phone call was announced on Friday as a follow-up to the talks the leaders of France and Germany held earlier this week in Kiev and Moscow.
Their surprise visits to the capitals of Ukraine and Russia, with new peace proposals, were announced while US Secretary of State John Kerry was in Kiev, speaking of possible weapons supplies to Ukrainian government troops.
Political analysts believe the dispute inside the US on whether to arm Ukraine could actually trigger the Franco-German peace initiative, because Europe is reluctant to have a full-blown war on its doorstep.
The details of the Franco-German peace initiative have not been disclosed.
The spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, would only describe them as “constructive.”
Francois Hollande said on Saturday the Franco-German peace initiative could be “one of the last chances” for peace in Ukraine.
Angela Merkel ruled out the option of arming Ukrainian army as a possible solution to the crisis.
"I understand the debate [on weapons supplies] but I believe that more weapons will not lead to the progress Ukraine needs. I really doubt that," she said.
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