President Barack Obama says the US is studying the option of
supplying lethal defensive arms to Ukraine if diplomacy fails to end the crisis
in the east.
Russia had violated "every commitment" made in the
failing Minsk agreement, he added, after talks with the German chancellor on a
new peace deal.
Mr Obama has come under pressure from senior US officials to
supply arms, despite objections from Angela Merkel.
Russia denies accusations of sending troops and supplying
the rebels.
The latest diplomatic efforts come amid renewed fighting
between the pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian government troops, with fighting
centered around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.
The rebels said on Monday they had cut off a key supply road
to the town, which is near the rebel-held city of Donetsk, but the military
says the battle is ongoing.
Ukrainian government officials say nine soldiers and at
least seven civilians have been killed in fighting over the last 24 hours.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is considering the
peace proposals, earlier blamed the West for the crisis.
Pro-Russian separatist fighter jumps from an armored
vehicle near a destroyed Ukrainian tank in Uglegorsk, 6 kms southwest of
Debaltseve on 9 February 2015
Mrs Merkel's US trip is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic
activity to try end nearly a year of conflict in Ukraine
The crisis in Ukraine has already claimed more than 5,300
lives and displaced 1.5 million people from their homes.
Mrs Merkel met the US president in Washington on Monday to
update him on Franco-German efforts to revive last year's Minsk peace plan,
which collapsed amid fighting over the winter.
The detailed proposals have not been released but the plan
is thought to include a demilitarized zone of 50-70km (31-44 miles) around the
current front line.
Speaking alongside the German chancellor, President Obama
said the option of lethal defensive weapons for the Ukrainian government
remained on the table.
"If, in fact, diplomacy fails, what I've asked my team
to do is to look at all options," he said, adding that offering lethal
arms was only one of the options under consideration.
Mrs Merkel, who has made it clear she opposes sending lethal
arms, acknowledged setbacks in efforts to reach a diplomatic solution with
Russia over Ukraine, but said that they would continue
Meanwhile Mr Obama criticised Russian aggression in Ukraine,
saying that the borders of Europe could not be "redrawn at the barrel of a
gun".
But this Russian aggression had reinforced the unity of the
US and its European allies, he added.
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