Ukraine, French, German leaders in Minsk for peace summit

The leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France arrived in Minsk today for a peace summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at ending 10 months of conflict in Ukraine.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French leader Francois Hollande touched down in the Belarussian capital ahead of Putin's expected arrival, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The quartet will hold a make-or-break summit to try to thrash out a peace plan to halt fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels that has cost at least 5,300 lives since April.

Kiev and the west accuse Putin of masterminding the bloody uprising and say the meeting is a last chance to prevent the broadening of the conflict.
 

US President Barack Obama has warned that he may start delivering arms to Ukraine if the summit fails to find a solution to the crisis.