Obama and Merkel stage show of unity in Ukraine crisis

Barack Obama and Angela Merkel pursue diplomatic solution to Russian "aggression" - but US keeps option of sending lethal weapons to Kiev

Barack Obama and Angela Merkel staged a show of unity over the Ukraine crisis on Monday, suggesting a diplomatic answer to Russian “aggression” in Ukraine was still possible despite insistent calls to send weapons into the warzone.

The American president and the German chancellor insisted that joint US-European resolve was strong after days of arguments over whether America should send advanced weapons to Kiev.

But Mr Obama left a door open, saying that supplying “lethal defensive weapons” to boost Ukrainian government forces was “one of those options that’s being examined” and that while he had yet to make a decision, he would be consulting with “other allies” besides Mrs Merkel.

The president’s team was also considering “whether there are additional things we can do to help Ukraine bolster its defences in the face of Russian aggression,” he added.

The two leaders met in Washington ahead of a summit planned for Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus, when Mrs Merkel and François Hollande, France’s president, will join the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to thrash out a peace deal.

Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting government forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine since last April, in a grinding conflict that has claimed more than 5,300 lives.

Kiev and Nato say that Russia has sent tanks, artillery and thousands of men into the battle across its border with Ukraine, allowing the separatists to carve out a de facto independent state centred on their stronghold of Donetsk.

Hawks in Washington insist the only way to rebuff Russia is to provide Kiev with “defensive weapons” such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, but Germany, France and Britain have spoken against the move.

Mrs Merkel said: “We continue to pursue a diplomatic solution although we have suffered a lot of setbacks; these days we will see if all sides are ready and willing to come to a negotiated settlement.”

The German leader said it was vital to “stand up for the interests of the European peaceful order”.

“We stand up for the same principles of inviolability of territorial integrity,” she added. “If we give up this principal of territorial integrity of countries then we will not be able to maintain the peaceful order of Europe that we’ve been able to achieve.

“This is not just any old point, it’s an essential, crucial point and we have to stand by it. And Russia has violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Mr Obama said the international community should “ratchet up the costs” to Russia for its “violation of the core principle of sovereignty”, indicating that fresh sanctions against Moscow could be on the horizon.

Washington’s preference was for a “strong, prosperous, vibrant, confident Russia”, the US leader said. “We are not looking for Russia to fail and (be) weakened,” he added. However, “in the face of this aggression and these bad decisions, you know, we can’t simply try to talk them out of it.

“We have to show them that the world is unified and imposing a cost for this aggression.”

Any peace deal will have to tackle a minefield of issues, including the location of a ceasefire line, the status of the rebel regions, monitoring of the Ukraine-Russia border and the possible presence of international peacekeepers.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, indicated in a newspaper interview on Monday that he would work towards a resolution in Minsk but he railed against Washington’s alleged role in the conflict.

The hostilities had “emerged in response to the attempts of the USA and its western allies who considered themselves 'winners’ of the Cold War to impose their will everywhere,” he said.

Mrs Merkel’s shuttle diplomacy may have smoothed some feathers in Washington but there is still division within the EU about how to tackle Russia if peace talks fail.

A Pro-Russian separatist fighter jumps from an armoured vehicle in Uglegorsk (AFP)

On Monday the EU delayed placing asset freezes and travel bans on 19 more individuals, including five Russians, for their actions linked to eastern Ukraine so as not to antagonise Russia ahead of the talks.

The restrictions will be reviewed after the Minsk summit. Austria and Cyprus are leading an anti-sanctions camp that includes the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

While all eyes were on the Obama-Merkel meeting in Washington, another set of talks was under way behind closed doors in Berlin. Senior diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, Germany met to iron out the details of a new ceasefire agreement.

If they cannot reach agreement on certain unspecified key points, Mr Putin has warned the Minsk summit may not even take place on Wednesday.

“I hope that the outstanding issues can be gradually resolved,” said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, on the sidelines of talks in Brussels.

Mr Steinmeier conceded that if the current peace initiative fails, a military option would be back on the table.

“Everyone is of course clear that if the current efforts do not succeed, then the conflict will escalate militarily in a next stage,” he said. “Then the question of supplying arms will certainly be discussed here in Europe.”

By Tom Parfitt, David Lawler, Justin Huggler and Bruno Waterfield