Merkel meeting Obama amid tensions over Ukraine

(Vatican Radio) German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting U.S. President Barrack Obama on Monday, amid a potential split over whether to arm Ukrainian government forces to better battle Russian-backed separatists.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report: 

Merkel was also expected to brief Obama on an upcoming meeting between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine aimed at reviving a much violated peace plan. 

Her talks at the White House come at a time when Obama is rethinking his previous opposition to sending heavy weapons to Ukraine.

Germany and several other European countries strongly oppose providing lethal aid, amid fears it would trigger a proxy war between the United States and Russia.

Yet, speaking at a security conference in Munich, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was keen Sunday to dispel the notion of a trans-Atlantic rift while not ruling out weapons deliveries.

No division

"Let me assure everybody there is no division, there is no split - I hear people trying to create one," Kerry said.

"We are united, we are working closely together. We all agree that this challenge will not end through military force. We are united in our diplomacy."

But he warned, "the longer that it takes, the more the off ramps are avoided, the more we will be forced to raise the costs on Russia and its proxies."

However German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking alongside Kerry, said he considers delivering weapons "not just highly risky but counterproductive."

Yet with Russian-backed separatists gaining ground in eastern Ukraine, there is a sense of urgency to broker peace.

Minsk meeting

That's why German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a phone call Sunday agreed to possibly meet Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus.

Their meeting is aimed at reviving the much-violated peace plan both sides agreed to in Minsk last September, and end a war that has now killed more than 5,300 people.

A revived plan was expected to include the creation of a buffer zone and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from front lines, as well as granting some autonomy to rebel controlled areas in Ukraine, and boosting Russian language rights and local culture.

The West has accused Russia of supporting rebels with weapons and troops.

Moscow denies those claims, but admits that Russian volunteers are fighting in the area.