Merkel, Obama discuss Ukraine crisis

US President Barack Obama discussed the Ukraine crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here Monday and said Russia "violated just about every commitment" made in the Minsk agreement.

The Minsk agreement, signed in September last year, was 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, according to a CNN report.

Merkel said it was a bad idea to send lethal aid to the Ukrainian military.

"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 believed that if the West sent weapons to Ukraine, Russia could further step up its involvement in the conflict, possibly introducing its air force into the fight.

A summit meeting to discuss ways of solving the Ukraine crisis will be held in the Belarusian capital of Minsk Wednesday, between the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine.

Merkel, Francois Hollande, Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko held a detailed telephonic conference Sunday and discussed a package of measures as part of the efforts for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Seibert said, adding that "this work will continue tomorrow in Berlin".

Merkel and Hollande visited Moscow Friday to discuss ways to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The European Union, on the other hand, agreed on new sanctions against pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and their supporters, but according to the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, the organisation opted to delay implementing the sanctions for a week, to give more opportunity for a negotiated solution to take hold.

The top priority, she said, "is to improve things on the ground", where escalating fighting is taking a toll on civilians.