Russia wants Germany, France to pressure Kiev on peace plan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference after a meeting with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow, Russia, August 17, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

SEVASTOPOL, Crimea (Reuters) - Russia wants the leaders of Germany and France to put more pressure on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to implement a February peace plan for east Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Poroshenko will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin on Monday in a bid to end a new wave of violence in east Ukraine between Russian-backed rebels and Ukraine's armed forces.