Ukrainian First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin has claimed officials of the EU Delegation to Ukraine were being provocative concerning remarks he made with respect to Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok.
In his letter to Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Ian Tombinski,
which was posted on the Web site of the Prosecutor General’s Office on
Thursday, Kuzmin said: “On March 22, the EU Delegation to Ukraine
distributed a press release among the newsletter recipients… which
concerned the groundlessness of my accusations against Chairman of the
European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok.”
According to the EU Delegation to Ukraine, such accusations were made
during Kuzmin’s recent interview and concerned the behavior of the MEP
during his last visit to Kyiv in December 2012.
“The spreading by the EU Delegation to Ukraine of this erroneous
statement prompted me to appeal to you personally. I admit that the
reason for the emergence of such a press release was the publication of
my research paper ‘Defamation as a means of undue influence on the
courts and investigation in Ukraine’s criminal process’ in a
professional publication – the Zakon i Biznes (Law and Business)
newspaper, No. 11 (1101), March 16-22, 2013. If so, I draw your
attention, Mr. Ambassador, that this report is not my interview and does
not contain public accusations against MEP Brok,” reads the letter.
He also said: “The officials of the EU Delegation to Ukraine who are
responsible for the preparation and placement of the press release
deliberately twisted this fact. Obviously, the main purpose of this
concerted campaign was discrediting and describing me as a man who
slandered the honest and untainted MEP Brok, who claims to be a
supporter of the Ukrainian opposition.”
Kuzmin also drew Tombinski’s attention to the fact that this press
release was not posted on the official Web site of the EU Delegation to
Ukraine, only a statement about the behavior of FEMEN activists with
respect to Brok.
He said that this situation indicates that the “interested persons of
the EU Delegation to Ukraine deliberately created this provocation.”
“Dear Mr. Tombinski, I am confident that you will not disregard this
fact and determine the persons responsible for the placement and
distribution of the press release. The neglect of this incident and the
practice of placing misleading and twisted reports will harm the
credibility of the EU Delegation to Ukraine,” reads the letter.
Kuzmin also asked the EU ambassador to have “a more balanced approach
to the assessment of reports in professional legal publications and use
only proven and reliable data based on facts, rather than on the
emotions of individuals.”
“The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine takes the opportunity to
once again witness its high respect for the EU Delegation to Ukraine and
looks forward to constructive and effective cooperation,” Kuzmin said.
