Slovenia opposes sanctions because these are not effective and end up hurting the economy and not the oligarchs, said Erjavec.

The EU foreign ministers discussed Ukraine today, expressing deep concern about the situation and the ongoing political crisis. The ministerial also condemned the violence and human rights violations.

The ministers called for investigations into the violence and urged the government and the opposition to conduct dialogue. The EU is still willing to sign an Association Agreement with Ukraine, the ministers agreed.

Erjavec underlined after the meeting that Ukraine must not become the ground for battles of geo-strategic interests. The country must open up, be modernised and get prepared for more active economic cooperation, said Slovenia's foreign minister.

He added that the country needed USD$25bn to "catch a breath". The EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are preparing an aid package in return for structural reforms in Ukraine, according to Erjavec.

Touching on a recent scandal involving US secretary of state deputy Victoria Nuland, who said "Fuck the EU" in a phone call discussing Ukraine, Erjavec said he does not believe that this position reflected the official position of the US.

The minister believes that Nuland's comment could have resulted from the fact that it is hard for the EU to form a single position and is thus hard to be perceived as a credible partner in certain situations.

He said however that such deviations from diplomatic speak "apparently happen often". "In Slovenia we sometimes have problems with the rhetoric of US diplomats as well," he remarked.