Ukraine's ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko has asked the European Union to initial its Association Agreement with Ukraine.
"Today, being behind bars and realizing that Yanukovych’s government has nothing to do with Europe or democracy, I nonetheless ask the European Union to initial the Agreement. Such a step on your part will become a serious and effective barrier on the path of today’s country sinking into the abyss of post-Soviet totalitarianism," Tymoshenko said in a statement issued by her Batkivschyna party on March 29.
The signing of the Agreement will become "a historical breakthrough (for Ukraine) towards the European dream" and give hope, freedom and dignified life to 47 million Ukrainians, she said.
"A disrupted signing of the Agreement will mean a failure of Ukraine’s European aspirations. It could become a tragedy that will overshadow Ukraine’s future for many years to come. The Ukrainian authorities, disguised by European rhetoric, are hoping precisely that the Agreement will not be signed, so as to be able to say later: Europe does not want us, so we do not want it. But this is the position of the authorities, this is the position of a few people who temporarily represent our state internationally," the ex-prime minister said.
In 2011, the EU did not sign the Agreement with Ukraine and did not even initial it, having publicly stated that the association talks were over, she recalled.
"The incumbent head of state did not even take up this chance. Starting from December 2011, Ukraine’s top politicians have effectively been in isolation, and well-known European politicians avoid meetings with the Ukrainian president," Tymoshenko said.
The initialing of the Agreement will become "a significant political achievement of the united democratic opposition in the run-up to elections, will unite all pro-European social strata around it, create favorable conditions for developing Ukrainian business (trade with the EU) and citizens (visa-free travel), which will objectively strengthen the pro-European focus of the Ukrainian society," Tymoshenko said.
The initialing of the Agreement will become a step forward towards "a Ukraine of tomorrow, a democratic Ukraine," the ex-prime minister said.
