West floats new Ukraine peace plan
German and French leaders yesterday pushed ahead with a new peace plan to Kiev and Moscow after a surge in deadly fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande arrived in Kiev after a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who called on Moscow to make an "immediate commitment" to a ceasefire in Kiev's conflict with pro-Russian rebels.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. As the European leaders set out on the biggest peace push so far to end the near 10-month conflict, at least 21 people were killed in fresh clashes as the separatists try to push deeper into government-held territory.
"We talked about the largest threat that Ukraine faces today and that is Russia's continued aggression in the east," Kerry said after talks with Ukraine's leaders.
"There must be an immediate commitment now to a real ceasefire, which is not just a piece of paper with words, but which is followed by specific actions," Kerry said.
"We want a diplomatic resolution, but we cannot close our eyes to tanks that are crossing the border from Russia," he said, emphasising that "we are not seeking conflict with Russia".
In Paris, Hollande said he and Merkel would "propose a new solution to the conflict based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine."
He said the plan would be discussed with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday, but warned that diplomacy "cannot go on indefinitely".
Despite growing talk of Washington arming Ukrainian forces, a State Department official said only that Kerry was to unveil $16 million in fresh US humanitarian aid, particularly to help displaced people.
Russia, itself accused of arming the separatists, warned that any US move to send weapons to Ukraine would cause "colossal damage" to ties, foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
Kerry is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a security conference in Munich on Saturday after the three-way Moscow meeting.
Meanwhile, European sources yesterday said the EU will add 19 people including five Russians to its sanctions list over the conflict in Ukraine following a surge in fighting between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels.
None of the 19 new figures targeted for travel bans and asset freezes is "top level", the sources said.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Moscow of sending thousands of regular army troops and weapons to support the rebels who launched an uprising against Kiev in April. And while Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations, the separatists are equipped with the advanced weaponry of a regular army.
The fighting has claimed more than 5,350 lives since April, including some 220 in just the past three weeks, according to the United Nations.
Weekend peace talks in Minsk -- where a now-tattered truce was agreed in September -- collapsed after rebel leaders stayed away.
As the bloodletting has intensified, Washington has been reviewing its position to see if it should bow to a growing clamour to send heavy weapons to Kiev.
US President Barack Obama's nominee for defence secretary said on Wednesday he was likely to support providing weapons.
Ashton Carter, expected to be confirmed soon as Pentagon chief, told a US Senate committee that "we need to support the Ukrainians in defending themselves".
Defence secretary nominee Carter said that bolstering NATO forces in the Baltic states would be "a deterrent to any Russian kind of adventurism".
Washington has so far provided only non-lethal assistance to Ukraine, including flak jackets, medical supplies, radios and night-vision goggles, because it fears becoming embroiled in a proxy war with Russia.
But the failure of economic sanctions to force Russia to halt what the West sees as Moscow's military support for the separatists has prompted a second look at the option.
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