Ukraine won't send Tymoshenko abroad, "endangers EU ties"

KIEV Ukraine’s parliament has rejected draft laws that would have allowed former PM, now opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to seek medical treatment abroad. Tymoshenko was convicted on corruption charges and is currently in jail. Ukraine won't send Tymoshenko abroad, "endangers EU ties" The parliament's decision is "endangering the country’s chances of signing deals to secure closer economic ties with the EU," RIA Novosti reported. Ukraine's ruling Party of the Regions, led by the country's president Viktor Yanukovych, did not support any of the proposed laws "which would have paved the way for Tymoshenko to leave the country." Tymoshenko's release is seen in the European Union "as a key precondition for Kiev to sign free trade agreements that would mark a historic westward shift at a much-anticipated conference in Vilnius next week," the Russian news agency reported. The adoption of the set of laws was considered a condition for Ukraine to sign the SAA with the EU, who claim the former prime minister is in jail "for political reasons," and that in her case, "justice done selectively." The draft laws also contained a mechanism according to which convicted Ukrainian citizens would be candidates for amnesty or pardon, should there be an appropriate ruling of the European Court for Human Rights. Besides, individual amnesty for Tymoshenko was proposed in the rejected legislation. Tymoshenko was sent to jail for seven years in 2011 for signing a contract on Russian gas purchases that was deemed harmful to Ukraine. RIA Novosti noted in its report that Ukraine has been "at the center of intensive diplomatic negotiations with both Russia and the EU in recent weeks," with Russia "angered by the prospect of closer Ukrainian ties with the European Union, and has pressed for Kiev to join a Moscow-led Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan." (Beta/AP, file) Ria novosti Tanjug

Ukraine won't send Tymoshenko abroad, "endangers EU ties"

The parliament's decision is "endangering the country’s chances of signing deals to secure closer economic ties with the EU," RIA Novosti reported.

Ukraine's ruling Party of the Regions, led by the country's president Viktor Yanukovych, did not support any of the proposed laws "which would have paved the way for Tymoshenko to leave the country."

Tymoshenko's release is seen in the European Union "as a key precondition for Kiev to sign free trade agreements that would mark a historic westward shift at a much-anticipated conference in Vilnius next week," the Russian news agency reported.

The adoption of the set of laws was considered a condition for Ukraine to sign the SAA with the EU, who claim the former prime minister is in jail "for political reasons," and that in her case, "justice done selectively."

The draft laws also contained a mechanism according to which convicted Ukrainian citizens would be candidates for amnesty or pardon, should there be an appropriate ruling of the European Court for Human Rights.

Besides, individual amnesty for Tymoshenko was proposed in the rejected legislation.

Tymoshenko was sent to jail for seven years in 2011 for signing a contract on Russian gas purchases that was deemed harmful to Ukraine.

RIA Novosti noted in its report that Ukraine has been "at the center of intensive diplomatic negotiations with both Russia and the EU in recent weeks," with Russia "angered by the prospect of closer Ukrainian ties with the European Union, and has pressed for Kiev to join a Moscow-led Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan."