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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting. The stage is set for renewed Ukraine-Russia discussions on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department says a French-German plan to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine is based on September's failed cease-fire but with more details on timing. French President François Hollande has described the plan as "one of the last chances" to end the fighting in Ukraine. In Munich at an international security conference Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is unclear if the plan will succeed. She also voiced opposition to the idea of Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying more weapons will not resolve the conflict. But [the U.S. official denied] a U.S. official denied there was any rift between the United States and Europe on the possibility of supplying arms to Ukrainian forces. Sunday, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Merkel and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko will hold four-way peace talks by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. French sources say Saturday's talks will focus the reviving a tattered peace deal signed in September that has since been discarded by both sides. Ukraine insists any new accord must honor cease-fire boundaries agreed on in September and can not include territory gained by rebels in recent weeks of heavy fighting. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko: "We have a basis for the whole negotiation. It's the Minsk agreement. I mean Minsk protocol, Minsk memorandum. We have a(n) absolutely clear distance from which we should withdraw the heavy artillery, mortar, tanks and other military technique." Turkey's intelligence service chief, one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's closest allies, has resigned to run in parliamentary elections in June. The resignation of Hakan Fidan was reported Saturday. This is VOA news. Jordanian fighter jets struck Islamic State targets for a third straight day Saturday as the militants' claim that a Jordanian airstrike killed an American hostage remained unconfirmed. Jordan launched the raids to avenge the killing of a Jordanian pilot the Islamic State group captured in Syria in December. Both Jordan and the United Arab Emirates are members of the U.S.-led coalition attacking the militants in their captured territory in Iraq and Syria. The family of Kayla Mueller, a supposedly killed American hostage, released a statement Friday, saying they were still hopeful that she is alive. The majority leader in Kenya's parliament, Adel Duale, has called for an investigation into the killing of a Kenyan lawmaker shot early Saturday in Nairobi along with his two bodyguards and a driver. Parliament leader Adel Duale described the shooting of George Muchai of the Kabete party as heinous and barbaric. A police officer said the killing looked like an execution-style hit. Muchai was returning from a family gathering when gunmen attacked his car. Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets Saturday to protest the Shiite rebel takeover of the country. Yemen's Gulf neighbors denounced the Shiite power grab. Yemen's Gulf neighbors, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council led by Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and the [Arab] United Arab Emirates, labeled the Houthi rebels' actions an unacceptable "escalation." Ali Al-Yazidi, leader of the Nasseri political party, said his organization rejects the declaration by the Houthi militia Friday. Rebel leader Abdel-Malak al-Houthi defended the takeover in a speech Saturday, saying it filled a political "vacuum" and was in the interest of the Yemeni people. U.S. President Barack Obama says with the right policies, the U.S. economy can continue to grow to one where those who work hard can get ahead. In his weekly address Saturday, Mr. Obama said the $4 trillion spending proposal he sent to Congress Monday is built on middle-class economics. "It helps families afford childcare, health care, college, paid leave at work, homeownership, and saving for retirement, and it could put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of a working family each year." The president said he will work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to "give working families more security in a time of constant economic change." Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger have announced plans to assist Nigeria in their fight against the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. Delegates from the four West African nations revealed their plan at the end of three days of talks in Cameroon Saturday. Experts from the African Union and United Nations also participated. More on these stories at our website voanews.com. I'm Vincent Bruce in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |