YALTA, Ukraine -- In this part of the world, political leaders often find themselves landing in jail when they fall out of favor. Such a situation led to a testy exchange Friday between the president of Ukraine and a political opponent who was released from prison two months ago.
The point of contention was the continued incarceration of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister and bitter electoral foe of President Viktor Yanukovich, and it resulted in a sarcastic back and forth in front of hundreds of rapt political and business leaders from dozens of countries.
Her case has attracted worldwide attention, and sharp criticism from the United States and the European Union over what they call “selective justice.”
This matters to Ukraine, which wants to sign a cooperation agreement with the European Union despite escalating pressure against the move from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been trying to intimidate Yanukovich.
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