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EU's 28 leaders gather to decide on sanctions against Russia over Ukraine conflict

Associated Press
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Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk waves as he arrives for an EU summit at the EU Council building in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, 2014. EU heads of state meet Thursday in emergency session to discuss the situation in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk arrives for an EU summit at the EU Council building in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, 2014. EU heads of state meet Thursday in emergency session to discuss the situation in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) (The Associated Press)

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, right, walks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk prior to a meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, 2014. EU heads of state meet Thursday in emergency session to discuss the situation in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

European Union leaders are holding an emergency summit to decide on imposing sanctions against Russia over its military incursion in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

The EU leaders were gathering Thursday as the 28-nation bloc seeks to find the right response to the conflict unfolding just beyond its eastern border in Ukraine.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Europe "needs to send a very clear message to the Russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences."

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said"Russia today is dangerous."

The EU on Monday told Russia to withdraw its troops on the Crimean peninsula to its barracks or face sanctions. Among the initial punitive measures considered are suspending talks with Russia on visa liberalization and an economic agreement.