Ukraine PM cuts short Rome trip 'because of the situation'

Vatican City: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will cut short his trip to Rome and miss the canonisation of John Paul II and John XXIII because of growing tensions with Russia, his spokeswoman told AFP on Saturday.

"He can't stay because of the situation", Olga Lappo said as the prime minister met with Pope Francis, amid rising tensions between pro-Russian protesters and Ukrainian authorities in the eastern part of the ex-Soviet country.

The Group of Seven rich countries have agreed to slap sanctions on Moscow as early as Monday over the soaring Ukraine crisis amid fears in the West that Russia could be about to invade.

Nerves frayed after pro-Russian rebels holding a group of international OSCE observers in the area earlier Saturday accused them of being "NATO spies" and vowed to continue detaining them.