EU readies sanctions against Ukraine

The EU readied itself on Thursday to slap sanctions on Ukrainian officials at a meeting in Brussels.

The talks come as three foreign ministers met with Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovich, in Kiev.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “There has to be an international response to what has happened over the last few days and that is why we will discuss sanctions, measures against those responsible for the violence.”

Hague added that “the Ukrainian government, of course, bears the greatest responsibility.”

Ukraine’s security services had said on Wednesday that they would launch an “anti-terrorist operation” against “radical and extremist groups.”

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

The three EU nations have been some of the most vocal supporters of sanctions against the Ukrainian government.

Their mission was organised at the request of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Officials say the EU and the US are consulting on who to hold responsible for the violence and the exact nature of such measures.

Washington said on Wednesday that it had already placed a travel ban on 20 Ukrainians, without citing their names.

Ben Rhodes, a national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said: “We continue to watch events very closely in Ukraine.”

“We’ve made clear that we will consider taking actions against individuals who are responsible for acts of violence within Ukraine,” Rhodes was quoted as saying by the AP news agency. “We have a tool kit for doing that and that includes sanctions.”