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MUNICHEuropean leaders wrangling over the Ukraine crisis struck a tentative deal to hold a new summit in Belarus on Wednesday, a small sign of progress even as public sparring between German and U.S. officials continued over whether or not the West should arm Ukraine.

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held a phone call Sunday to discuss a package of measures to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Representatives of the four countries will continue working on the package in Berlin on Monday, officials said, with the goal of holding a summit in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday. The summit would be attended by all four countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Minsk summit will take place if we manage to agree on a series of positions that we have been intensively discussing, according to the Interfax news agency.

A contact group that includes Russia, Ukraine, and separatist representatives will also meet in Minsk by Wednesday, officials said.

But trans-Atlantic differences over how to put pressure on the Kremlin to agree to a deal burst into the open at an annual international gathering here, the Munich Security Conference, this weekend. The public rift has undermined the unity the U.S. and Europe have been trying to project in opposition to what the West describes as Russian military support for separatists in eastern Ukrainea claim Russia has denied repeatedly.

On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier responded bluntly to harsh criticism from visiting U.S. senators who claimed Germany was turning its back to Ukraine by opposing weapons deliveries. He echoed Merkels comments on Saturday insisting that arming Ukraine would likely lead to an escalation of the conflict, with Russia increasing its own alleged support of the separatists.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking after Steinmeier, tried to play down the rift. He insisted the West was united in its response to the Ukraine crisis and promised further measures if Russia didnt work to calm the fighting. But he didnt identify what those measures would be.

Kerry didnt directly address the question of weapons deliveries. The White House is considering making such a move, but officials say a final decision wont come before Merkel and President Barack Obama meet in Washington on Monday.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com

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The Wall Street Journal: Leaders press for Ukraine deal in Minsk