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 The planned trip by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President
Francois Hollande to see Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday evening
follows five hours of late-night talks with Ukrainian leader Petro
Poroshenko in snow-bound Kiev on Thursday.
Back in their respective capitals in between, Hollande called the
talks "the first step", while Merkel said it was unclear whether the
meeting in Moscow would secure a ceasefire.
Their initiative follows fierce fighting and territorial gains in
eastern Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists since a peace
blueprint was agreed in Belarus in September.
The Ukrainian military reported that two more soldiers had been
killed in the past 24 hours in the east, with 26 wounded.
The growing military pressure has shaken the Ukrainian economy and
driven a debate over the possibility of the United States providing
Kiev's hard-pressed army with arms.
Merkel said she and Hollande were not on the road as neutral
mediators but were representing European interests. "These interests
are peace, maintaining Europe's peaceful order."
 A statement on Poroshenko's website said the sides had expressed the
hope that "Russia had an interest in" a peaceful settlement of the
conflict.
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.
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said there "was no sign
whatsoever" of a breakthrough so far.
The Ukrainian presidential statement said he and the German, and
French leaders had called for a quick ceasefire, the withdrawal of
foreign forces from Ukraine, the pull-back of heavy weapons and
equipment, the closure of the border and the release of all
prisoners.
On the ground, the rebels are advancing on a railway hub held by
Ukrainian troops, who are almost encircled.
A collapse in Ukraine's hryvnia currency further highlighted the
importance of reaching a deal. It lost nearly a third of its value
on Thursday after the central bank halted daily auctions at which it
sold hard currency to banks.
Though details of the peace deal were under wraps, much might depend
on whether Ukraine is being pressed to acknowledge existing front
lines as the new negotiating reality - and whether Kiev would accept
this.
German government sources said on Thursday the key problem for
resuming peace talks was that current front lines no longer tally
with what was agreed at talks in Minsk, Belarus, last year.
One idea was that a new attempt at a ceasefire should take in the
current front lines, which reflect rebel gains, without Kiev having
to give up its claim to these areas as part of the Ukrainian state.
German government sources continued to say however on Friday that
the Minsk talks last September were still the basis for negotiations
- the view also of Kiev, France and the United States.
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Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Thursday that Kiev
would not consider any peace plan that cast doubt on the nation's
territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence.
NATO says Russia has provided vital support to the rebels in the
shape of weapons, funds and troops, something denied by Moscow.
Speaking on BBC radio on Friday, Ukraine's ambassador at large,
Dmytro Kuleba, said: "What was discussed yesterday is not a new
peace plan actually, it is a set of steps that will allow to
implement the existing peace plan and that is the Minsk agreement
signed back in September also by Russia.
"We are not speaking about a completely new initiative. It is a set
of steps and decisions that will allow to implement commitments
already undertaken," he said.
Speaking after meeting Poroshenko in Kiev on Thursday, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington supported diplomacy,
but would "not close our eyes" to Russian tanks and troops crossing
the border.
U.S. President Barack Obama will decide soon whether to provide
Ukraine with lethal weapons to fight the separatists, Kerry said.
Asked by Europe 1 to react to reports of possible U.S. arms supplies
to Ukraine, Russia's ambassador to France Orlov said: "We are not
afraid of that but it would be madness because that would be like
pouring oil on the fire."
The rebels have been concentrating on Debaltseve, a rail hub
northeast of the big city of Donetsk, where a government garrison
has held out despite being nearly encircled.
A temporary truce appeared to be in force around the town on Friday
as convoys of buses converged from two sides to allow civilians to
be evacuated. Ukrainian authorities said, however, that their forces
remained in full control of the town.
A Reuters correspondent who reached Debaltseve with the rebel convoy
of buses saw several homes peppered with splinters and shell holes.
North of the town there was the sound of sporadic artillery in the
distance, but otherwise there was no firing.
(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev, Aleksandar Vasovic
in Horlivka, Kylie MacLellan in London and Marine Pennetier and
Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish in Paris; writing By Richard
Balmforth; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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