Ukraine president seeks quick cease-fire

Associated Press

MUNICH

Ukraine’s president pushed for both a quick cease-fire in his country’s troubled east and defensive weapons from the West, as mediators sought momentum Saturday for a deal to stem the fighting at Europe’s edge.

Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin are to confer with the leaders of Germany and France by phone today in an effort to overcome months of setbacks and suspicion and breathe new life into a much-violated September peace plan.

But even those who had scheduled the call were cautious about its prospects.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who along with French President Francois Hollande traveled to Kiev on Thursday and Moscow on Friday — acknowledged disillusionment over the failure of previous agreements to stick and said “there are no theoretical guarantees” that a new one would either.

Western anxiety over the conflict is growing and sanctions are taking a toll on Russia’s economy.

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.

“I do not believe there will be a final solution on this situation. Putin is still not weak enough to accept that, and the West is not strong enough to insist on its terms,” said Igor Sutyagin, an analyst with the Royal United Services Institute in Britain.

The resurgent fighting has prompted the U.S. to consider giving lethal weapons to Ukraine, an option opposed by European nations which fear the move would merely exacerbate the situation.