Obama to decide 'soon' on U.S. weapons for Ukraine - Kerry

French President Francois Hollande (R) welcomes Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel as she arrives at the Elysee Palace before the solidarity march (Rassemblement Republicain) in the streets of Paris January 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will decide soon whether to provide Kiev with lethal weapons to fight separatists in east Ukraine but Washington prefers a diplomatic solution, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday.

Kerry was speaking in Kiev as the German and French leaders, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, arrived in the Ukrainian capital with a new proposal to end the conflict, which they planned to discuss in Moscow on Friday.