Russia-Ukraine crisis: German-French-Russian "last chance" meeting follow-up

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried a last-ditch effort to put an end to the war in Ukraine. Despite more than five hours of talks at the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of France and Germany, there was no deal to end the fighting in the eastern Ukraine. The three, however, agreed to continue diplomacy.

Hollande described the peace talks as "one of the last chances" for peace, whereas a spokesman for Merkel said she and the French president had a "constructive and substantial exchange of views with President Putin." None of the three commented publicly at the talks.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the text under discussion was based on a French-German proposal that "would include the proposals of the Ukrainian president and the proposals formulated and added today (Friday) by President Putin." He added that the four leaders would discuss preliminary results by phone on Sunday.

Merkel shared her vision for a possible solution to the Ukraine Council at the Munich Security conference earlier on Sunday. She stated that the crisis could not be resolved militarily. She touched upon the speculated prospect of sending weapons to Ukraine stating that she did not believe that weapons would progress Ukraine needs. "I cannot imagine any situation in which improved equipment for the Ukrainian army leads to President Putin being so impressed that he believes he will lose militarily," she said, stressing that she wants to secure peace in Europe with Russia.

The United States has voiced support for sending weapon supplies to the Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has heard pleas from the Ukrainian leadership for weapons. U.S. President Barack Obama is considering the...