PRAGUE (Reuters) - It is an "obscene perversion" for Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak of Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers in Ukraine and Australia will not hesitate to impose further sanctions if Russia escalates the situation further, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Wednesday.

       "Any suggestions that there is a legitimate basis for Russia's actions are pure propaganda and disinformation," she told reporters during a visit to Prague.

       "The assertion by President Putin of Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers is indeed an obscene perversion of the noble and vital role that generations of peacekeepers have played across the world."

       (Reporting by Robert Muller, writing by Jan Lopatka, Editing by Alex Richardson)