The European Union has convened urgent talks to discuss sanctions against Ukraine but is likely to stop short of action against President Viktor Yanukovych, instead remaining in political contact with him.
EU foreign ministers have been summoned to Brussels for talks tomorrow by the bloc's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, as outrage over apocalyptic scenes of violence in Kiev trigger strident calls for sanctions.
In what would be a policy U-turn on the crisis in Ukraine for the 28-nation bloc, Ashton said the EU would consider toughening its stance by agreeing to sanctions against those deemed responsible.
"All possible options will be explored, including restrictive measures against those responsible for repression and human rights violations," she said.
But several EU diplomats told AFP there was little likelihood of sanctions explicitly targeting Yanukovych himself.
"Some member states believe it would be best to save this for later, if needed, to stagger our response," said a diplomat close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Our objective after all is political dialogue and we must keep all channels open at this point," the source added. "Sanctions are a means to an end."
The latest explosion of violence in the three-month standoff in Ukraine, where fierce clashes yesterday killed at least 26 people, has set alarm bells ringing across the international community.
In a separate bid to facilitate dialogue between the authorities and protesters, the French, German and Polish foreign ministers announced plans to travel to Kiev tomorrow.
Until last day's bloody upsurge in violence, the EU had resisted US calls for reprisals, insisting it was preferable to keep channels of communication open with the embattled Yanukovych.
But with leaders in Europe saying he now had "blood on his hands", Ashton convened an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers for 1300 GMT tomorrow.
The EU's political and security committee went into closed-door talks today to thrash out a consensus on Ukraine ahead of the ministers' get-together.
