The United States welcomed on Friday the European Union's steps to use a "powerful tool to promote accountability on a global scale," after the EU said it was ready to impose sanctions on Lebanon's ruling elite over the political crisis wracking the country.

 

 

"Sanctions are intended, among other things, to compel changes in behavior, and promote accountability for corrupt actors and leaders," Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

 

 

Blinken and Yellen added that they were ready to cooperate with the EU on Lebanon.

 

 

The EU adopted on Friday a legal framework for sanctions.

 

 

"This framework provides for the possibility of imposing sanctions against persons and entities who are responsible for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Lebanon," the EU said in a statement.

 

 

The bloc's 27 member states must still vote unanimously for the list of people and entities to be sanctioned.