Updated

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will not provide weapons to Ukraine and supports negotiations and a diplomatic solution to the conflict between the government in Kiev and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel, speaking Monday after meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, said "the conflict (in Ukraine) cannot be solved militarily."

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has claimed more than 5,100 lives since April and displaced 900,000 people. Despite a September cease-fire and a period of relative calm in December, the fighting has intensified in recent weeks.