KIEV (REUTERS) - Ukraine's prime minister said on Saturday his country would not be drawn into a military conflict by Russian "provocations" in the Crimea region and appealed to Moscow to halt military movements there.

"It is unacceptable when armoured Russian military vehicles are out in the centre of Ukrainian towns," Mr Arseny Yatseniuk said before a government meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

Russia, which has a naval base in Crimea, says any movements by its military in Crimea are in line with agreements with Ukraine.