63,000 sign White House petition for sanctions against Ukraine president

PanARMENIAN.Net - An online petition demanding the U.S. government to impose sanctions on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been signed by about 63,000 people in two days, according to RIA Novosti.

In a move that stunned Europe, the Ukrainian government last week announced that it would seek closer cooperation with Russia and the Moscow-led Customs Union trade bloc, which also comprises Belarus and Kazakhstan, instead of signing an association agreement and a free-trade deal with the European Union.

The petition demands personal sanctions, including an entry ban and asset freeze, on Yanukovych and members of the Ukrainian government unless Ukraine signs the EU agreement.

The White House vows to timely consider any petition on its website that gathers 100,000 votes within 30 days after being published.

“We cannot accept the fact that Yanukovych and his government deny the right of the people of Ukraine to become closer to Western civilization,” the petition reads.

The Ukrainian president is in Vilnius to take part in the EU summit at which the agreement was supposed to have been signed.