Brussels (dpa) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that she supported sanctions on Belarusian officials "who violated democratic values or abused human rights."

"I am confident today’s EU Foreign Ministers’ discussion will demonstrate our strong support for the rights of the people in Belarus to fundamental freedoms & democracy," she said on Twitter.

The 27 EU foreign affairs ministers are set to meet on Friday afternoon to discuss the possibility of sanctioning Belarus.

If they reach a political agreement on imposing additional sanctions on Belarus - the European Union has in previous years already sanctioned some officials and imposed an arms embargo - the move would still have to be formally adopted at a later point.