Russia will face sanctions over its military incursion in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula unless it withdraws its troops or engages in credible talks to defuse the situation, European leaders said on Thursday.
"We need to send a very clear message to the Russian Government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said as he arrived at an emergency meeting of the bloc's 28 leaders in Brussels.
But leaders appeared divided between nations close to Russia's borders and some western economic powerhouses — notably Germany — that were taking a more dovish line.
“Whether (sanctions) will come into force depends also on how the diplomatic process progresses,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, noting that Foreign Ministers including Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's Sergey lavrov were holding talks again in Rome on Thursday.
"Russia today is dangerous," insisted lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, warning Moscow is seeking to expand its borders.