WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared Monday that Russian aggression in Ukraine has only reinforced the unity of the U.S. and Europe, as they weighed the prospects of reviving an elusive peace plan to end the conflict. 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a joint news conference with President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were expected to... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk in together to begin their joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were... (Associated Press) 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, is greeted by Office of the Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Peter A. Selfridge, left, upon her arrival at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Monday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were expected to... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel participate in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were expected to... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama listens as German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during their joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were expected... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama pauses during his joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The leaders were expected to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Still, Obama held open the prospect that if a new round of diplomacy this week fails, the U.S. could send Ukraine's beleaguered military defensive weaponry. The president said that while he has yet to make a decision on lethal aid, his team is considering "whether there are additional things we can do to help Ukraine bolster its defenses in the face of Russian aggression." 
 
 Merkel and other European leaders staunchly oppose arming Ukraine, in part out of fear of sparking a proxy war with Russia. 
 
 The U.S. and Europe have largely been in agreement on their response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, raising the prospect that a public split over lethal aid is a tactic to push Russian Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace plan. 
 
 During a joint White House news conference with Obama, Merkel reaffirmed that she sees no military solution to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. However, she added that no matter what Obama decides, "the alliance between the United states and Europe will continue to stand, will continue to be solid." 
 
 Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met with Putin and Ukrainian leaders last week and announced a new summit meeting for Wednesday in Minsk. The United States was not at the negotiating table last week, nor will it participate in Wednesday's talks. 
 
 Merkel, who has perhaps the most productive relationship with Putin of any Western leader, said reaching a diplomatic agreement was crucial to keeping the peace in Europe. 
 
 "I myself actually would not be able to live without having made this attempt," she said through a translator. 
 
 More than 5,300 people have been killed since fighting in eastern Ukraine began in April, according to a U.N. tally. The bloodshed has markedly increased over the past two weeks, sparking both the new diplomatic maneuvering and Obama's re-evaluation of sending Ukraine defensive military aid. 
 
 The president gave no indication of how quickly he would make a decision on possibly ramping up military assistance to Ukraine, nor did he indicate whether there was a specific development that might trigger that step. 
 
 "The measure by which I make these decisions is, is it more likely to be effective than not," he said. 
 
 The U.S. has so far limited its military assistance to non-lethal equipment, including gas masks and radar technology to detect incoming fire. If Obama approves lethal aid, the U.S. could send Ukraine anti-tank missiles, such as the Javelin weapon system, along with armored vehicles. 
 
 The U.S. and Europe have largely focused their punitive measures against Russia on several rounds of economic sanctions. The penalties, along with plummeting oil prices, have caused significant damage to Russia's economy. 
 
 The European Union decided Monday to temporarily hold off on ordering more sanctions on Russians and Ukrainian separatists while awaiting the outcome of the peace talks. 
 
 Details of the proposals being discussed between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France have not been revealed, but the main sticking points have emerged in the leaders' recent comments. 
 
 One is enforcing a peace deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has expressed opposition to any peacekeeper force, apparently reflecting concern that sending Russian peacekeeping troops into eastern Ukraine could result in a de facto occupation. 
 
 However, key to a real settlement is some mechanism for monitoring the Ukraine-Russia border to ensure that Russia is not sending troops or equipment to the separatists. Ukrainian officials would have the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe conduct such monitoring. 
 
 The status of the eastern regions remains contentious. Ukraine passed a law last year proposing what it called significant autonomy for the east, but rebels dismissed it as vague and meaningless. Russia has pushed for "federalization" of Ukraine, which would presumably give the east significant independence, but Ukrainian authorities oppose that. 
 
 Obama and Merkel also discussed the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State militants and the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. The U.S. and Germany, along with their negotiating partners, are discussing with Iran the outlines of a framework agreement ahead of a late March deadline. 
 
 The negotiations have been extended before. Obama said Monday that he does not believe an extension would be "useful" unless Iran can agree to the basic outlines of a deal. 
 
 "They should be able to get to yes," Obama said. "But we don't know if that's going to happen." 
 
 _ 
 
 Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC ||||| CLOSE President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a united front against Russia in talks at the White House, saying they would continue to mount diplomatic and economic pressure to get Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. VPC 
 
 President Obama listens to Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel during a joint news conference at the East Room of the White House Monday. Obama and Merkel met in Washington to discuss a wide variety of issues including Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, international trade and the forthcoming G-7 Summit in June 2015. EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER ORG XMIT: FAX202 (Photo: MICHAEL KAPPELER, EPA) 
 
 WASHINGTON — President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a united front against Russia in talks at the White House Monday, saying they would continue to mount diplomatic and economic pressure to get Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. 
 
 There were hints of disagreements about what the strategy might be if those efforts fail, but both leaders kept the nature of those disagreements behind closed doors. 
 
 At a joint press conference following their morning meeting in the Oval Office, Obama said he was "very encouraged about the extent to which we've been able to maintain U.S.-European unity on this issue." 
 
 "We are in absolute agreement that the 21st century cannot have us stand idle and allow the borders of Europe to be redrawn by the barrel of a gun," Obama said. But then he also suggested that there may be "tactical disagreements" about what happens if diplomatic efforts fail. 
 
 Those disagreements stem from the possibility of military aid to Ukraine to fend off pro-Russian separatists. "The possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that's being examined," Obama said. Merkel opposes that course. 
 
 Both Obama and Merkel said no decision has been made about military options. 
 
 "I've always said I don't see a military solution in this conflict, but we have to put all our efforts behind a diplomatic solution," Merkel said, speaking in German. "But if, at a certain point in time, one has to say that a success is not possible, even if one puts every effort into it, then the United States and Europe have to sit together and try and explore further possibilities, what one can do." 
 
 The meeting comes amid a whirlwind of airplane diplomacy among NATO powers Ukraine and Russia. With talks in Munich and Kiev unable to forge a diplomatic solution last week, the two sides announced a new summit Wednesday in Minsk. 
 
 But other issues were also on the agenda. Obama focused largely on security concerns: Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran and the Islamic State. Merkel opened her remarks by talking about trade and economics. 
 
 The two leaders also discussed what's become a sore point in their relationship: Revelations that the U.S. National Secuerity Agency spied on Merkel as part of a vast electronic surveillance effort revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. 
 
 Merkel acknowledged the privacy concerns, but said the information provided by the U.S. spy agency was indispensable. "If we look at the sheer dimension of the terrorist threat, we are more than aware of the fact that we need to work together very closely," she said. 
 
 Obama said the issue was complicated. 
 
 "There's no doubt that the Snowden revelations damaged impressions of Germans with respect to the U.S. government and our intelligence cooperation," he said. "And what I have done over the last year, year and a half is to systematically work through some of these issues to create greater transparency and to restore confidence, not just for Germans, but for our partners around the world." 
 
 The Obama-Merkel press conference followed a morning meeting in the Oval Office with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, national security adviser Susan Rice and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. On Merkel's side were her foreign policy adviser, Christoph Heusgen, economic adviser Lars-Hendrik Roeller and spokesman Steffen Seibert 
 
 Also on the schedule Monday: a "working lunch" with Obama, Merkel and Biden. 
 
 Follow @gregorykorte on Twitter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Dct5MC ||||| Story highlights U.S. President Barack Obama says he hasn't decided yet whether to send weapons to Ukraine 
 
 Germany's Angela Merkel: "I've always said I don't see a military solution to this conflict" 
 
 Leaders are planning possible talks in Belarus Wednesday 
 
 (CNN) Would sending weapons to Ukraine block Russia from grabbing territory and stem violence in the volatile region? Or would it fuel further conflict and destabilize Europe? 
 
 That's a key issue Western leaders are weighing. And even as they tried to present a unified front at a press briefing Monday, it was clear that it's an area where U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel don't quite see eye to eye. 
 
 Obama said he hasn't decided yet whether to send arms to Ukrainian forces defending their country against Russian-backed separatists, and he hasn't set a deadline for when he will. But he insists it's an option that should be considered if diplomacy fails. 
 
 Any weapons the U.S. sends would not be meant to help Ukraine defeat the Russian army in an all-out battle, Obama said. 
 
 "Our goal has not been for Ukraine to be equipped to carry out offensive operations," he said, "but to simply defend itself." ||||| As the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia agreed to meet in Belarus to try and broker a peace deal, Mr Hammond appeared on Sky News to denounce the Kremlin's behaviour as "outrageous and outdated". 
 
 The US is considering moves to provide additional supplies and arms to the government in Ukraine - as Russia has been accused of doing with sectarian rebels - but the EU has denied the emergence of a transatlantic rift on the issue. 
 
 After meeting the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she respected the internal debate on the subject in the US and "it is up to them to discuss and decide". 
 
 Defence Secretary Philip Hammond with the US Secretary of State John Kerry "We are united when it comes to support to Ukraine ... we are united when it comes to economic pressure and we are united also on ... the need to have a political dialogue," she said. 
 
 Mr Hammond said a decision on whether Britain would also help arm the Ukrainian military was “under review”, but demanded Russia withdraw its troops not only from Donetsk but also from Crimea, which Putin annexed in March last year. 
 
 “Don't make it sound like that is an outrageous thing for us to demand [of Mr Putin],” the minister told Sky News’ Murnaghan programme. 
 
 “This man has sent troops across an international border and occupied another country's territory in the 21st century acting like some mid-20th century tyrant. 
 
 “We do not behave like that. Civilised nations do not behave like that in the 21st century. We live in a rules-based society. We want the Russian people to be part of that international community. 
 
 “We want Russia to enjoy the kind of economic growth and rising standards of living that people in the rest of Europe enjoy and we do not see any reason to tolerate this kind of outrageous and outdated behaviour from the Kremlin.” 
 
 After a joint phone call today involving Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, the French president Francois Hollande, Mr Poroshenko and Mr Putin, the four agreed to talks in Minsk which will aim to agree an immediate ceasefire. 
 
 French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking on French television, said he feared a "dramatic spiral" in violence if dialogue with Moscow did not succeed. 
 
 Mr Hammond dismissed an earlier claim from France’s Mr Hollande that current talks were the “last chance for peace” in Ukraine – noting that a military conflict is already under way. But he agreed that a political solution was the only way to end the crisis, adding that “the Kremlin, Mr Putin, has to understand he will pay a political and economic price for what he is doing in the Ukraine”. 
 
 At least 5,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, when the country's Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovich was forced out during mass street protests in Kiev. ||||| MUNICH (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that it's uncertain whether a flurry of diplomacy aimed at resolving the crisis in Ukraine will succeed. 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers her speech at the 51. Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. The conference on security policy takes place from Feb. 6, 2015... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives for the 51. Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. The conference on security policy takes place from Feb. 6, 2015 until Feb.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, French President Francois Hollande, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose for a photo during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right, embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during the 51. Security Conference Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. The conference on security policy takes... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose for a photo prior to their and French President Francois Hollande's meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during her speech at the 51. Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. The conference on security policy takes place from Feb. 6,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive for the 51. Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. The conference on security policy takes... (Associated Press) 
 
 Merkel insisted after returning from talks in Moscow the previous night that "this crisis cannot be solved by military means" and "substantial steps" are needed to "fill with life" a much-violated September peace deal. 
 
 Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Merkel said of the latest peace efforts that "it is uncertain whether they will be successful." However she said that she and French President Francois Hollande, who accompanied her to Kiev on Thursday and Moscow on Friday, believe it is "in any case worth making this attempt." 
 
 "We have not yet had sufficiently good experiences" with agreements that have been made being honored on the grounds, she said, but that the answer to that can't be not to seek agreements. 
 
 Merkel also said she is "very doubtful" about the wisdom of supplying weapons to Ukraine, underlining doubts in Europe about a move advocated by some in the U.S. 
 
 Merkel's speech was attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. She planned to hold a three-way meeting with both on the sidelines. 
 
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are also attending the conference. 
 
 Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko plan to confer on Sunday by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
 
 Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said after Friday's talks that efforts were moving forward. 
 
 "Work is currently underway on drafting the text of a possible joint document on the implementation of the Minsk agreement, which would include the proposals made by the president of Ukraine and President Putin," Peskov said. ||||| MOSCOW — As the deadly violence in Ukraine ramps up, so does the international scramble to find a solution. 
 
 President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met to discuss the crisis Monday in Washington, while in Brussels, Belgium, the European Union agreed on new sanctions against pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and their supporters. 
 
 In a joint news conference with Merkel, Obama said Russia has “violated just about every commitment” it made in the September Minsk agreement meant to help end the fighting in Ukraine. 
 
 “Instead of withdrawing from eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continue to operate there, training separatists and helping to coordinate attacks,” he said. 
 
 But the organization opted to delay implementing the sanctions for a week, to give more opportunity for a negotiated solution to take hold, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini told reporters. 
 
 The top priority, she said, “is to improve things on the ground,” where escalating fighting is taking a toll on civilians. 
 
 In Washington, Obama and Merkel were expected to discuss proposals to send lethal aid to the Ukrainian military. Merkel says that’s a bad idea. 
 
 “The progress that Ukraine needs cannot be achieved with more weapons,” she said. “I have grave doubts about the validity of this point.” 
 
 Merkel said she believes that if the West sends weapons to Ukraine, Russia could further step up its involvement in the conflict, possibly introducing its air force into the fight. 
 
 But U.S. Sen. John McCain, who supports arming Ukraine, said it’s a “harsh reality” that Russia’s military is supporting pro-Russian separatist rebels in Ukraine. 
 
 He said Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want a diplomatic solution, he wants to dominate Ukraine as well as Russia’s other neighbors.” 
 
 The crisis comes nearly a year after Ukrainian officials and the U.S. government accused Russia of flooding Crimea with troops ahead of its widely disputed annexation of the territory in March 2014. 
 
 Similar allegations of Russian military involvement have been made about the current conflict in eastern Ukraine, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk recently saying his forces are fighting not with local militants, but “with the Russian regular army.” 
 
 Russian officials have denied the claims, saying the fighting is between what it calls a fascist government in Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists. Last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the Russian government would “continue actively facilitating a peaceful settlement” to the conflict. 
 
 But some Western leaders continue to slam Putin. On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Putin was acting like a “mid-20th century tyrant.” 
 
 Hammond told Sky News that Russia’s behavior was “outrageous and outdated” and warned that Putin will “pay the price for what he is doing in Ukraine.” 
 
 Sketchy peace talks 
 
 The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France spoke by phone over the weekend and planned a face-to-face meeting Wednesday in Belarus. 
 
 But even that gathering, which could be a significant meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, isn’t set in stone. 
 
 “We are planning for Wednesday if we succeed in settling the various points that we have discussed so intensively over these last days,” Putin said Sunday. 
 
 The big challenge facing Putin, Poroshenko, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande is whether they can reach a peace agreement that will stick. 
 
 A peace agreement was signed in September in Minsk, Belarus. It called for a drawback of heavy weapons, self-rule in the eastern regions and a buffer zone to be set up along the Russia-Ukraine border. 
 
 But the agreement quickly disintegrated, and the violence continued. 
 
 The new plan envisions a much broader demilitarized zone to run along the current front lines. 
 
 All the while, the crisis in Ukraine, which stemmed from a trade agreement, has killed more than 5,000 people, including many civilians. 
 
 At least 224 civilians were killed in the final three weeks of January alone, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said. 
 
 Explosion rattles facility in Donetsk 
 
 On Sunday, a strong explosion rocked what the website for the city of Donetsk referred to as a chemical goods plant. 
 
 However, Dmytro Yarosh, a Ukrainian lawmaker and Right Sector battalion commander, wrote on Facebook that Ukrainian artillery hit a warehouse containing BM-21 GRAD rocket launchers. On Monday, a European diplomat echoed the claim, telling CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh that the facility was probably an arms depot or factory in a separatist-held area of Donetsk. 
 
 Buildings in the area were damaged in the Sunday blast, including homes, but no casualties have been reported. 
 
 Eduard Basurin, deputy defense minister of the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic, accused Ukraine of carrying out an attack that caused the explosion. 
 
 The Ukrainian Defense Ministry wouldn’t say if the blast was the result of an attack by its military.
– To arm or not to arm Ukraine is the question—and although the US and Germany may not agree on the answer to that question, for now they're presenting a unified front in finding a solution to Ukraine's conflict with Russia. President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a joint press conference this morning at the White House, declaring that Russian aggression against Ukraine has only strengthened the resolve of Europe and the US to work toward a resolution, the AP reports. "We are in absolute agreement that the 21st century cannot have us stand idle and allow the borders of Europe to be redrawn by the barrel of a gun," Obama said, per USA Today. The sticking point between the two countries lies in what Obama calls "tactical disagreements": whether or not to send lethal aid to Ukraine. The US has so far only provided Ukraine with non-lethal assistance. Merkel—who, along with French President Francois Hollande, met with Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko last week and is scheduled to meet with them again Wednesday—doesn't believe arming Ukraine is wise. Although Obama noted that Putin has "violated just about every commitment" in striving for a peaceful solution, Merkel said the "progress that Ukraine needs cannot be achieved with more weapons," per CNN; she added she fears Russia could increase military action if that happens. Sen. John McCain, however, said that "[Putin] does not want a diplomatic solution, he wants to dominate Ukraine as well as Russia's other neighbors," and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond calls the Russian leader a "mid-20th century tyrant," the Independent notes. The European Union agreed to new sanctions against Russia today, though it decided to delay the sanctions for one week to see if a peace plan can be reached.