US wants to supply arms to Ukraine despite objections from Angela Merkel.

Mrs Merkel met the US president in Washington on Monday to update him on German-Franco plans to restart peace talks.

US President Barack Obama is studying the option of supplying lethal defensive arms to Ukraine if diplomacy fails to end the crisis in the east.

According to BBC News, Russia had violated "every commitment" made in the failing Minsk agreement, he added, after talks with the German chancellor. It has been assumed Mr Obama has come under huge pressure from senior US diplomatic and military officials to supply arms, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly opposed this option of arming Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons. 

Mrs Merkel met the US president in Washington on Monday to update him on German-Franco plans to restart peace talks.

She has made it clear that she opposes providing lethal arms to the Ukraine government, telling a security conference at the weekend that she did not believe more weapons could "lead to the progress Ukraine needs".

Mrs Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have been leading efforts to revive the Minsk peace plan, which collapsed amid fighting over the winter.