EU approves Ukrainian sanctions

EU foreign ministers have agreed to slap sanctions on Ukrainian officials.

But they stopped short of naming which specific individuals would be affected.

Emma Bonino, the Italian foreign minister, told reporters in Brussels that all EU nations had agreed “with imposing sanctions including visa bans and asset freezes on those responsible for the violence in Ukraine.”

Washington announced on Wednesday that it had put in place a travel ban on 20 Ukrainian officials, without citing their names.

There would be some coordination on the targeted measures between EU’s 28 member states and the US, according to British Foreign Minister William Hague.

“It won’t necessarily be identical to lists in the United States. We make our own decisions. But I suspect that there will be quite a bit of overlap. And the decisions about that will be made very quickly,” he said on leaving the meeting.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are currently in Kiev holding talks with the Ukrainian presidency and the opposition.

They are working on a deal that would lead to a transitional government, constitutional reform and early elections.

The question is whether President Viktor Yanukovich will accept those terms, reports Euronews’ James Franey, having remained so steadfast in his determination to stay in power until now