BRUSSELS- Russia is increasing tensions and provocations in Crimea, Ukraine's interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Thursday as he prepared to meet EU leaders holding an emergency summit on the crisis.

Kiev wants a political solution so "it depends on Russia (if) it is ready to fix this conflict ... or is Russia reluctant and (wants) to increase tension, as they did in the past few hours," Yatsenyuk said after meeting European Parliament head Martin Schulz.

Yatsenyuk said Russian forces had again blockaded Ukraine units in Crimea, "so they are still provoking the clashes and the tension."

"We asked Russia to respond, whether they are ready to preserve peace and stability in Europe or ready to instigate another provocation and tension in our bilateral relations," he said.

He gave no further details of the events in Crimea.

Schulz said there had just been reports about fresh Russian actions in Crimea and if confirmed, they would mean a "real danger ... and tension."

EU leaders will have to discuss what "kind of answer can be given," Schulz said, with the meeting set to discuss a range of options amid sharp differences over how far the bloc should go.

If there are to be sanctions, "they should be precise and targeted, leading to reflection on the other side," he said.

SOURCE: AFP