UPDATE 1-Germany's Merz to join call on US-Russian plan to end Ukraine war

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join a phone call about a U.S.-Russian plan to end the war in Ukraine on Friday, two government sources told Reuters.

Merz asked his chief of staff Thorsten Frei to replace him at an event he had to cancel to participate in the call, one of the sources said. Bloomberg earlier reported that Merz would join other leaders on the call.