Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych promised his Polish and Slovak counterparts Bronislaw Komorowski and Ivan Gasparovic during a meeting in Poland to improve the detention conditions of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and to release former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko from prison, the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza wrote on Monday, Feb.25.
Yanukovych made this promise informally, and the Ukrainian delegates made no official statements concerning Tymoshenko or Lutsenko, the newspaper said.
Gazeta Wyborcza noted that the Polish president’s office had neither confirmed nor denied this information. After a meeting with Yanukovych, Komorowski said that he was optimistic about the fulfillment of a number of tasks aimed at building a positive image of Ukraine in the EU countries, in particular in the matters related to Tymoshenko and Lutsenko.
“Yanukovych is maneuvering. Let’s wait until he eventually fulfills any of the promises,” a high-ranking source in the Polish Foreign Ministry told the newspaper. The diplomat added that it looked like Yanukovych wanted to improve relations with the EU, if only to be in a better position when negotiating with Russia.
As reported, Yanukovych went to Poland for a working visit on February 20-21 at the invitation of Komorowski.
