Merkel, Hollande Come to Moscow With Revised Ukraine Peace Plan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande are flying to Moscow Friday with a new peace roadmap for Ukraine.

The blueprint, based on the Minsk Protocol, reflects growing German and French concern about planned deliveries of US lethal weapons to Ukraine.

Merkel and Hollande earlier discussed the plan with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. During the four-hour parley in Kiev the sides reiterated their full support for the provisions of the Minsk Protocol.

Signed on September 5 by representatives of the Kiev government and self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People Republics, with mediation by Russia and the OSCE, the 12-point Protocol envisaged a ceasefire, prisoner swaps and a special status for parts of the Donbass region.

Poroshenko, Merkel and Hollande called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, the withdrawal of foreign troops, removal of heavy weaponry and the release of all hostages as stipulated by the Minsk agreements.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Germany and France want Kiev to grant wider autonomy for the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in view of the recent military gains achieved by the independence supporters in these two self-proclaimed republics.

Angela Merkel and Francois Holland are scheduled to discuss the plan with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin later in the day.