Ukrainian PM urges Russia to engage in mediation

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk urged Russia on Thursday to withdraw its forces from Crimea and engage in international mediation to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. "We urge the Russian president and the Russian government immediately to pull back its forces and to stick to international agreements," Yatseniuk told reporters after meeting the president of the European Parliament. He said Russia should not ignore efforts being made by the United States, Britain, Germany and France to find a way of "de-escalating" the crisis and resolve it via a 'contact group'. "We ask Russia to respond, whether they are ready to preserve peace and stability in Europe, or they are ready to instigate other provocations and tensions in our bilateral and multilateral relations," he said. (Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by Luke Baker)