DHAKA: Pope Francis told Ukraine prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Saturday that he will ‘do everything possible’ for peace in the country, amid fears that Russia could be about to invade.

The Ukrainian premier is cutting short his trip to Rome and will miss the canonisation of John Paul II and John XXIII, as tensions mount in the eastern part of the former Soviet country and Western nations threaten sanctions.

Yatsenyuk spent 18 minutes behind closed doors with the Pope, who had urged the international community to ‘prevent violence’ in Ukraine in his Easter Sunday message.

At an exchange of gifts, Yatsenyuk presented Pope Francis with a photograph of Maidan square in Kiev on New Year’s night.

BDST: 1806 HRS, APR 26, 2014