(Western allies during last G/ summit)
The European Union discussed fresh sanctions against Russia on Monday as foreign ministers angrily blamed Moscow for fomenting trouble in restive eastern Ukraine while holding out hope of a diplomatic breakthrough.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on arriving for talks with his 27 counterparts:
Further sanctions have to be the response to Russia's behaviour. There have to be consequences.
Events of the last 48 hours in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Kremlin militants have seized official buildings in orchestrated attacks, are "clearly a further escalation of the crisis," Hague said.
There could be no "doubt that this has been planned and brought about by Russia," he said, adding that Russian denials of involvement "do not have a shred of credibility."
Lithuanian counterpart Linkus Linkevicius, whose Baltic nation takes a hard line on Russian meddling after being occupied by its large neighbour, said Europe was seeing "signs of state-owned terrorism" and "must use all leverage."
"We must not (concentrate) on washing the dishes when the house is on fire," said Linkevicius as Swedish hardliner Carl Bildt said that "if they escalate, I think we should escalate."
A draft statement on Ukraine put to the bloc's 28 ministers suggested adding more Russians to an EU blacklist of 33 people subjected to an EU visa ban and asset freeze.
It also reiterated that any further steps by Russia to destabilise Ukraine "would lead to additional and far-reaching consequences" on economic ties.
France says President Francois Hollande has spoken with his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, about further Western sanctions against Russia.
An April 14 statement released by Hollande's office said the two presidents shared concerns about recent violence in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian groups have seized and occupied government buildings.
Hollande said he hoped a meeting planned for April 17 with representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the European Union could "start a dialogue" to ease tensions.
Hollande also discussed possible future measures against Moscow with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Western states have threatened to impose further sanctions on Russia over last month's annexation of Crimea and the Kremlin's suspected role in supporting pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine.
[AFP]
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