Ukraine Crisis: Viktor Yanukovich Soon to Join Interpol 'Wanted' List?

Interpol is considering a Ukrainian request to hunt down the country's ousted president Viktor Yanukovich.

The France-based organisation said that it received "a request by Ukrainian authorities for an Interpol Red Notice, or international wanted persons alert, for the arrest of Viktor Yanukovich on charges including abuse of power and murder".

The red notice seeks the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.

An Interpol specialist for judicial issues is assessing the request to see whether it fits the organisation's rules.

All of Interpol's 190 member countries have been informed of the assessment, according to the statement.

"No further comment will be made by the Interpol General Secretariat until this review is complete and member countries have been informed of Interpol's decision," Interpol said on its website.

Yanukovich was ousted on 22 February after months of pro-EU protests in Kiev's Maidan square over his decision to withdraw Ukraine from a trade deal with the European Union.

The former president appeared in public in the southern Russian town of Rostov-on-Don where he has been hiding since fleeing Ukraine.

The move came after Washington and its EU allies imposed sanctions to punish Russia for the occupation of Crimea.

The White House said it enforced visa bans upon an unspecified number of Russian and Ukrainian individuals with immediate effect, and threatened to seize assets and ban doing business in the US if Moscow does not pull out of Crimea.

"The solution to the crisis in Ukraine must be based on the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine," said the EU summit statement. "It would be a matter of great regret if Russia continued to refuse to participate in a productive dialogue with the government of Ukraine."