MOSCOW — Talks among the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on a peace initiative for Ukraine ended early Saturday with an announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart would discuss a proposal to end the fighting.
The planned discussions Sunday involving Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the leaders of France and Germany came amid shuttle diplomacy to halt the intensification of fighting in Ukraine. It suggested that a cease-fire proposal was still on the table, although there was no firm announcement of progress.
Even getting the weaponry to fall silent would be a significant diplomatic breakthrough. The resurgent fighting has fueled fears the conflict is threatening Europe’s overall security and has prompted the U.S. to consider giving lethal weapons to Ukraine, an option opposed by European nations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande came to Moscow on Friday on the second leg of a hastily arranged trip to try to halt the conflict. They had met with Ukraine’s president the previous day in Kiev.
The contents of their proposal have not been revealed, but it is aimed at salvaging a peace plan agreed to in September in Minsk, Belarus.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said efforts were moving forward.
“Work is currently underway on drafting the text of a possible joint document on the implementation of the Minsk agreement, which would include the proposals made by the president of Ukraine and President Putin,” Peskov said after the talks in the Kremlin ended.
He said Merkel, Putin, Hollande and Poroshenko would hold discussions by telephone Sunday. A similar four-party conversation took place in mid-December, before the recent surge in fighting.
More than 5,300 people have been killed since fighting began in April, according to a U.N. tally, and the bloodshed has markedly increased over the past two weeks.
In Washington, the meeting was viewed with skepticism. “I’m not going to say it’s a positive sign that they’re listening,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said of Russia. “They’ve been listening. They just haven’t been acting.”
The United States and other Western countries contend that Russia has supplied troops and equipment to the separatists in eastern Ukraine who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces. Russia denies the claims.
In Brussels, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden questioned Putin’s willingness to seek peace. Putin “continues to call for new peace plans as his troops roll through the Ukrainian countryside and he absolutely ignores every agreement that his country has signed in the past and that he has signed,” Biden said.
