KIEV, April 3 - Fitch Ratings said the escalation of tensions between political groups in Ukraine will probably increase political risks in the country in the near future.

"The long-running rivalry between President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yanukovych has come to a head over the president's attempt to call fresh parliamentary elections. The crisis clearly raises political risk in the near term," said Andrew Colquhoun, Director in Fitch's Emerging Europe Sovereigns team.