The leaders of France and Germany have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for his support for a U.N. Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, an Elysee source said on Friday.

Diplomatic sources said separately that Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron were planning to call Putin together in the afternoon depending on the outcome of the U.N. vote.

The Elysee source said the two European Union leaders were holding a dialogue with Russia to ensure that it does not block the text.

The European Union called on Friday for an immediate ceasefire and access for aid trucks, using a strongly-worded statement to express its anger at bombing of Syria's eastern Ghouta.