EU decides to impose targeted sanctions against human rights violators in Ukraine

The EU Thursday decided as a matter of urgency to introduce targeted sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, against those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force in Ukraine. "Member states agreed to suspend export licences on equipment which might be used for internal repression," said EU foreign ministers in a statement after the end of their emergency meeting on Ukraine here this evening.The ministers tasked the relevant Working Parties in the EU Council to make the necessary preparations immediately. Faced with such grave crisis in Europe, the EU will continue to work in close cooperation with the international, to find a lasting, inclusive solution that respects the rights of all Ukrainians, said the statement."No circumstances can justify the repression we are currently witnessing. We condemn in the strongest terms all use of violence. Those responsible for grave human rights violations should be brought to justice," stressed the statement.