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Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany won't give weapons to Ukraine, backs diplomatic solution

Associated Press
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in front of the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. Angela Merkel is staying in Hungary for a one-day official visit. (AP Photo/MTI/Tibor Illyes) (The Associated Press)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in front of the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. Angela Merkel is staying in Hungary for a one-day official visit. (AP Photo/MTI/Tibor Illyes) (The Associated Press)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a news conference after their meeting in the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. Angela Merkel is staying in Hungary on a one-day official visit. (AP Photo/MTI/Tibor Illyes) (The Associated Press)

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.