You're reading: EU Delegation to Ukraine: EU Ambassador was not officially notified about Tymoshenko visit

Editor’s note: The following statement was issued on late July 25 by the EU Delegation to Ukraine. It refutes claims by Ukraine’s State Penitentiary Service that the EU Ambassador did not show up for a scheduled visit to jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. According to the statement, he was not notified about permission being granted for the visit. Moreover, Ukraine’s authorities claim to have granted permission for the visit on a day that he was abroad after he notified them that he would be abroad on this day.

 

“In the late afternoon of 24 July the EU Delegation learned about the information published by the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine website whereby the State Penitentiary Service did not grant permission for a visit by Head of European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador José Manuel Pinto Teixeira to Mrs Yulia Tymoshenko.

A few hours later such information was replaced on the website with another statement of the State Penitentiary Service according to which the State Penitentiary Service, as an exception, did grant permission for such meeting.

The EU Delegation has received no official information by the Ukrainian authorities on the above mentioned permission. Consequently, no possible date for the visit to Mrs Tymoshenko was officially communicated to the EU Delegation.

As required by diplomatic protocol rules, in the morning of 24 July the EU Delegation officially informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the EU Ambassador José Manuel Pinto Teixeira would be travelling out of Ukraine beginning from 24 July.Therefore, EU Ambassador José Manuel Pinto Teixeira could not be expected to be present in Kharkiv on 25 July  and pay a visit to Yulia Tymoshenko in the hospital.”