Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande (right) met Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Thursday
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to hold talks in Moscow to try to end escalating fighting in east Ukraine.
Their meeting with President Vladimir Putin follows urgent talks in Kiev, where a new peace plan was presented.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was also in Kiev, said the US wanted a diplomatic solution, but would not close its eyes to Russian aggression.
Moscow is accused of arming pro-Russian rebels – a claim it denies.
Russia also rejects claims by Ukraine and the West that its regular troops are fighting alongside the rebels against Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Clashes – which have intensified in recent weeks after a rebel offensive – have left nearly 5,400 people dead since April, the UN says.
As a result, a September ceasefire – signed in Minsk, Belarus – is now in tatters.
In separate developments on Friday:
- US Vice-President Joe Biden meets top EU officials in Brussels, as Washington considers sending weapons to Ukraine to fight the rebels;
- the annual security conference opens in Munich, with the Ukraine crisis likely to top the agenda
‘Hopes for ceasefire’
President Hollande and Mrs Merkel will meet President Putin in Moscow later on Friday to discuss new peace proposals.