EU Moves towards Travel Bans, Asset Freezes for Russians

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - The EU agreed a framework on Thursday for its first sanctions on Russia since the Cold War, a stronger response to the Ukraine crisis than many had expected and a mark of solidarity with Washington in the effort to make Moscow pay for seizing Crimea.


The EU sanctions, outlined in a document seen by Reuters, would slap travel bans and asset freezes on an as-yet-undecided list of people and firms accused by Brussels of violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the measures would be imposed on Monday unless diplomatic progress was made.

Shares in Moscow dropped 2.6 percent and the central bank was forced to spend $1.5 billion to prop up the ruble as investors confronted the prospect that Russia could face unexpectedly serious consequences for its plans to annex Crimea. » | Martin Santa and Aleksandar Vasovic | Brussels/Simferopol, Ukraine | Wednesday, March 12, 2014