Editor's Note: The following is a statement by EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashtonon the situation around Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, issued on March 7.
By international standards Yulia Tymoshenko was not dealt with properly, the EU HR/VP Catherine Ashton said at the Ministerial Meeting of Visegrad countries, Eastern Partnership countries and the EU in Prague on 5 March.
Speaking at the meeting, Ashton said that the EU and Ukraine had completed the work on the Association Agreement. "We are going to move forward with initialing that", she emphasized.
However, the EU HR/VP also drew attention to recent developments in Ukraine. "We have been clear to the government of Ukraine that by international standards Yulia Tymoshenko was not dealt with properly", she stressed.
In this regard, Ashton called upon Ukraine to "not only understand that", but to "remedy that using established international justice".
Furthermore, she outlined the EU’s priorities in a policy to develop and strengthen relations with its Eastern partner countries targeting such areas as economic reforms, democratic political changes and enhancing people-to-people and business-to-business contacts.
The full text of Ashton’s remarks could be found here.
