Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski warned Ukraine on Thursday that its European integration depended on the transparency of October's parliamentary election and the fate of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has called European
integration his top foreign policy priority, but Kiev’s ties
with the European Union have soured since he came to power in
February 2010.
“Poland has consistently and constantly expressed the
position that carrying out fair elections in Ukraine, regardless
of their outcome, should open way for further steps with the
goal of signing and ratifying the association agreement between
the EU and Ukraine,” Komorowski told reporters after meeting
Yanukovich on a visit to Ukraine.
“The stakes are high both for Ukraine and Europe, a lot can
be gained or everything can be lost.”
The EU shelved landmark deals on free trade and political
association with Ukraine after a local court sentenced
Tymoshenko, 51, a former prime minister and Yanukovich’s main
political opponent, to seven years in prison last October.
Brussels called her conviction on abuse-of-office charges an
example of selective justice and urged her release. It has also
criticised the slow pace of reforms in Ukraine and expressed
concerns about the fairness of the election given Tymoshenko’s
inability to run.
Yanukovich said last week he expected work on the
association agreement to resume after the October 28 vote, only
to be rebuked by European officials who reminded him about
Tymoshenko, a position Komorowski reiterated.
“The case of Yulia Tymoshenko is Ukraine’s internal affair
but at the same time it is a serious and significant obstacle on
the path of Ukraine getting closer to the EU,” he said.
TIGHT-LIPPED
Yanukovich declined to say whether he would pardon
Tymoshenko, who is now fighting tax evasion and embezzlement
charges in a fresh trial.
A leader of the 2004 “Orange Revolution” protests which
derailed Yanukovich’s first bid for presidency, Tymoshenko has
accused him of extracting revenge and trying to weaken the
opposition ahead of the October election.
The United States this month criticised what it called
biased media coverage and uneven representation of political
parties in electoral commissions, saying the vote could be
judged as “failed”.
Political analysts expect the election will see Yanukovich’s
allies continue to control parliament.
Tymoshenko, who has been receiving treatment for back
trouble in a state-run hospital since May, is challenging her
initial abuse-of-office conviction in the European Court of
Human Rights and has denied any wrongdoing.
Famous for her sharp tongue and trademark peasant hair
braid, Tymoshenko served twice as prime minister but lost the
2010 presidential vote to Yanukovich in a close run-off.
Soon afterwards, she was slapped with the abuse of office
charge related to a 2009 gas deal with Russia which she had
negotiated as prime minister. According to Yanukovich’s
government, the deal had saddled Ukraine with an exorbitant
price for vital energy supplies.
