Merkel, Hollande take Ukraine peace plan to Putin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that the initiative she and French President Francois Hollande are taking to end the conflict in Ukraine was aimed at defending "Europe's peaceful order".

Merkel and Hollande headed to Moscow on Friday to secure President Vladimir Putin's support for a peace plan to end violence in the east.

Merkel said on Friday that the two EU leaders, who are trying to secure Russian support for a peace plan, were not acting merely as "neutral intermediaries" but were representing European interests. "These interests are peace, maintaining Europe's peaceful order," she said.

Hollande told journalists in Paris before heading to the airport that "we should have hope" in this peace initiative.

For Moscow's part, Russia's ambassador to France Alexander Orlov told Europe 1 radio there was an urgent need to avoid war. "I wouldn't say it's a last-chance meeting, but it's not far off," he said.

Few details have emerged of what exactly the new peace proposal contains. The plan appears to have come from a back-and-forth between Putin, Merkel and Hollande.

Also on Friday, China welcomed all mediation attempts to solve the crisis in Ukraine.

Speaking at a daily press briefing on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, "We hope all parties concerned will seek a peaceful end to the crisis, and reach a lasting solution as soon as possible."

As impetus grows for a peaceful resolution to the conflict that has killed more than 5,300 people, rebel and Ukranian forces on the ground agreed to a cease-fire for several hours on Friday around the battleground town of Debaltseve to allow civilians to leave, both sides said.

AFP - AP - Reuters - Xinhua