EU delays key Ukrainian visit following jailing of former PM
Source: Agencies |
October 19, 2011, Wednesday
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THE European Union yesterday delayed a key visit by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych after signals that the country's jailed former prime minister, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, will not be released soon.
Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison last week on charges of abuse of office in the signing of a natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009. She dismissed her trial as Yanukovych's attempt to bar her from parliamentary elections next year. The US and the EU have condemned the conviction as politically motivated.
Yanukovych had been slated to travel to Brussels tomorrow for talks on a long-awaited free-trade agreement with the 27-nation bloc, but the EU announced the trip has been postponed until "a later occasion when the conditions will be more conducive to making progress on bilateral relations."
Dirk De Backer, spokesman for EU President Herman Van Rompuy, said: "Ukraine has to make improvements on important issues, such as the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary."
The postponement of Yanukovych's visit to Brussels follows indications from Kiev that Tymoshenko's release would not be facilitated by legal amendments that would turn her misdemeanor from a criminal offense to a milder economic violation, as her supporters and Western officials had hoped.
Yanukovych's supporters in parliament refused to consider such legal changes yesterday and Yanukovych indicated in an interview with US and European newspapers that passing such legal reforms would take time.
Speaking after Yanukovych's trip was put off, Oleksandr Yefremov, the head of the Yanukovych faction in parliament, took an even harder stance, saying his party would not back the legal change at all.
He said: "First of all, we do not change legislation for one person. Second, if we annul that legal provision, we will automatically absolve public servants of responsibility for misusing the budget."
Both Kiev and Brussels sought to play down the postponement of Yanukovych's visit, saying negotiations on the trade agreement were continuing.
But the development could boost Russia's influence over Ukraine as it tries to get Kiev to join a Moscow-led economic group. Russia has offered to lower natural gas prices to lure Ukraine into the group.
Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison last week on charges of abuse of office in the signing of a natural gas import contract with Russia in 2009. She dismissed her trial as Yanukovych's attempt to bar her from parliamentary elections next year. The US and the EU have condemned the conviction as politically motivated.
Yanukovych had been slated to travel to Brussels tomorrow for talks on a long-awaited free-trade agreement with the 27-nation bloc, but the EU announced the trip has been postponed until "a later occasion when the conditions will be more conducive to making progress on bilateral relations."
Dirk De Backer, spokesman for EU President Herman Van Rompuy, said: "Ukraine has to make improvements on important issues, such as the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary."
The postponement of Yanukovych's visit to Brussels follows indications from Kiev that Tymoshenko's release would not be facilitated by legal amendments that would turn her misdemeanor from a criminal offense to a milder economic violation, as her supporters and Western officials had hoped.
Yanukovych's supporters in parliament refused to consider such legal changes yesterday and Yanukovych indicated in an interview with US and European newspapers that passing such legal reforms would take time.
Speaking after Yanukovych's trip was put off, Oleksandr Yefremov, the head of the Yanukovych faction in parliament, took an even harder stance, saying his party would not back the legal change at all.
He said: "First of all, we do not change legislation for one person. Second, if we annul that legal provision, we will automatically absolve public servants of responsibility for misusing the budget."
Both Kiev and Brussels sought to play down the postponement of Yanukovych's visit, saying negotiations on the trade agreement were continuing.
But the development could boost Russia's influence over Ukraine as it tries to get Kiev to join a Moscow-led economic group. Russia has offered to lower natural gas prices to lure Ukraine into the group.
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