BRUSSELS - The European Union on Tuesday called off a meeting later this week with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych over the jailing of his arch rival, after Yanukovich said he would not "go begging" to Brussels.
Ukraine jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko last week for seven years after a trial that the EU and the United States say was politically motivated.
The court found her guilty of abuse of office for negotiating a gas deal with Russia while prime minister. Kyiv says the deal forces it to pay more than it can afford for gas.
Yanukovich had been due to meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the president of the EU council of member states, Herman Van Rompuy, on Thursday for talks aimed at advancing the European integration course of his ex-Soviet country.
"The meeting is postponed to a later occasion when the conditions will be more conducive to making progress in bilateral relations," said a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The postponement was meant to underscore the need for Ukraine "to make progress in ensuring the rule of law and independence of the judiciary," she said.
The EU has pressed Kyiv to amend the original charge against Tymoshenko to make it an administrative offence rather than a criminal one — thus allowing her to go free.
In unusually harsh comments on Monday, Yanukovych indicated he was not ready to bend to pressure over Tymoshenko and denied charges of political meddling in her trial.
"It is not a question of whether Ukraine or Europe likes the sentence or not. It is a question of the rule of law. There is a court that takes decisions which must be respected."
Referring to the meeting that had been set for Thursday, Yanukovych told foreign news organisations: "I am not going to go begging to anyone. If there is a need to meet someone — I am ready. If not, then I’ll just continue on my way. We (and the EU) are partners and we have mutual obligations."
EUROPEAN MAINSTREAM
Ukraine’s state security service opened a new criminal case against Tymoshenko on Oct. 13 accusing her of involvement in a "criminal conspiracy" 15 years ago to embezzle state funds through gas purchases from Russia.
Yanukovych has set joining the European mainstream as a foreign policy objective while forging strong relations with Ukraine’s powerful neighbour, Russia, on whom it relies for strategic supplies of gas.
His talks on Thursday were to relate to a long-awaited association agreement which Ukraine wants to be signed by the end of the year.
The creation of a free trade zone, a key part of this agreement, holds huge opportunities for Ukraine, an exporter of steel, chemicals and grain, and for the industrialists who are important backers of Yanukovych.
Referring specifically to the association agreement, he said: "If Europe is not ready for this for whatever reason, or if Ukraine is not ready, then the decision can be made later."
In Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Yanukovich received a boost from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who, at a joint news conference after bilateral talks, said the Tymoshenko trial was an "internal matter" for Ukraine.
"I would hope that justice … was fully based on Ukrainian legislation and that these sentences passed by the court were not political or anti-Russian in intention," he said. "To sum up what I think … it is an internal matter for Ukraine."
When Tymoshenko was jailed, the Russian foreign ministry said it detected an "obvious anti-Russian subtext" in the outcome.
Tymoshenko was convicted of exceeding her authority by forcing the state energy firm Naftogaz to sign a 2009 gas deal with Russia which left Ukraine paying very high prices for gas.
Last week some members of the European Parliament called for a suspension of talks on the pact with Kyiv on closer trade and political ties.
Ashton said last week the EU should keep negotiating the pact but not sign it unless Kyiv showed a commitment to shared values.
A European Commission spokeswoman on Tuesday confirmed this was still EU policy, but added: "We are committed in our cooperation with Ukraine and work goes on at a technical level.
"But regarding the actual signature, this is going to depend whether the values … are maintained, as they are at the very heart of our cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe."
In Kyiv, Yanukovych’s supporters in parliament said they would block any moves to "decriminalise" the charge against Tymoshenko to allow her to go free.
"We cannot accept this pressure from Brussels and EU leaders. We cannot violate our laws which these leaders are trying to push us to do," said Oleksander Efremov, leader of Yanukovych’s Regions party faction.
