--- description: The EU said Thursday it suspended talks and opened the door to sanctions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. title: Urkaine Crisis: EU Suspends Russia Talks, Threatens Sanctions image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda6aab9f19946698/69868438cd804d1494cc99c1/herman-van-rompuy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [European Union](/tag/european-union/) ## European Union Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # EU Suspends Russia Trade Talks, Threatens Sanctions  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 6:00 PM CUT  European Council President Herman Van Rompuy speaks at a news conference at the end of a European leaders emergency summit on Ukraine, in Brussels, on March 6, 2014 European Council President Herman Van Rompuy speaks at a news conference at the end of a European leaders emergency summit on Ukraine, in Brussels, on March 6, 2014Yves Herman—Reuters  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 6:00 PM CUT The European Union said Thursday it [suspended talks](https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/06/suspends-talks-with-russia-threatens-further-sanctions/hObPWhsj3h7CPSBM3dTTkJ/story.html "undefined") on two agreements with Russia and opened the door to further sanctions against Moscow over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. EU officials said at an emergency summit in Brussels that it was suspending talks on an economic pact and on a visa deal, the Associated Press reports. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy also said the EU would consider travel bans, asset freezes and canceling an EU-Russia summit. Earlier Thursday, the White House said it [imposed visa restrictions](http://time.com/13902/barack-obama-ukraine-russia/ "undefined") on some pro-Russian Ukrainian and Russian officials and called for additional financial sanctions related to the Ukraine crisis. Western countries are calling on Moscow to end the aggression in Crimea – where Russian and pro-Russian troops reportedly control all access to the peninsula — and participate in talks to put a stop to the crisis, which Rompuy called “the most serious challenge to security on our continent since the Balkan wars.” \[[AP](https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/06/suspends-talks-with-russia-threatens-further-sanctions/hObPWhsj3h7CPSBM3dTTkJ/story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/14408/eu-russia-sanctions-trade/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/14408/eu-russia-sanctions-trade/"},"headline":"EU Suspends Russia Trade Talks, Threatens Sanctions","datePublished":"2014-03-06T18:00:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:37:34.983Z","description":"The announcement by the E.U. follows a move by the White House to impose financial sanctions on people in Ukraine and Russia it believes have instigated unrest in the southern region Crimea amid a tense, days-long standoff with Russia","url":"https://time.com/14408/eu-russia-sanctions-trade/","keywords":["European Union","Ukraine","russia","Sanctions","trade","Crimea","eu"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda6aab9f19946698/69868438cd804d1494cc99c1/herman-van-rompuy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda6aab9f19946698/69868438cd804d1494cc99c1/herman-van-rompuy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"European Council President Herman Van Rompuy speaks at a news conference at the end of a European leaders emergency summit on Ukraine, in Brussels, March 6, 2014.","caption":"European Council President Herman Van Rompuy speaks at a news conference at the end of a European leaders emergency summit on Ukraine, in Brussels, March 6, 2014.","creditText":"Yves Herman—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/european-union/","name":"European Union"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/14408/eu-russia-sanctions-trade/","name":"EU Suspends Russia Trade Talks, Threatens Sanctions"}}]}] ```