Viktor Yanukovych

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Viktor Yanukovych

European Union reacted on Thursday to the signing by Ukraine of the free-trade zone agreement between the countries of the Commonwealth of the Independent States by inviting Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to visit Brussels in mid-November, Ukrainian Zerkalo Nedeli agency announced, cited by Russian Ria Novosti.

The Ukrainian office of the European Commission did not confirm the information, stating that the visit that was scheduled for October 20 has been postponed until Ukraine solved its political problems.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not confirm the news, nor denied it. The president of Ukraine was expected to meet with the head of European Commission Jose Manuel Barrosso and with the president of the European Council Herman van Rompuy to discuss with them the details related to the trade agreement Ukraine and EU were to sign as part of the process of integration.

European Union announced that the visit was postponed due to the problem caused in Ukraine by the sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister of Ukraine, to seven years in prison for a contract she signed in 2009 with the Russian Gazprom.

By that contract signing, the Ukrainian court believed, Tymoshenko exceeded her prerogatives given by the office she was executing, and produced an economic prejudice to the economy by signing a contract by which Ukraine was buying gas from Russia at a very high price.

Tymoshenko rejected the accusations from the start and accused an elaborate plot against her to bar her access to the next year’s elections.

In June, when the process went to court, Tymoshenko was held in contempt of court for her attitude during the trial, and has been spending time behind bars ever since. During the trial, one of the most important testimonies against her was offered by former president Viktor Yushchenko, who accused her of abuse of office by withholding the details of the contract from him, and by signing at an outrageous price at a time when Ukraine didn’t even need Russian gas.

Supporters have protested in her favor throughout the proceedings but their numbers was far smaller than during the Orange Revolution, when the entire population of Kiev came to her side as she accused the rigging of elections by the same Viktor Yanukovych to whom she lost elections in 2010.

The president of Ukraine told the European Union that the integration of Ukraine as a member state of the EU should be dissociated from the judicial problems of the former PM. The same position was advocated by Poland, which is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union and promised to participate in the process of integration of the former Soviet states in Eastern Europe.

Yulia Tymoshenko Arrested

Yanukovych alluded that the legislation could be modified to eliminate the offense of abuse in office, but it is not sure that this can be done before Tymoshenko’s trial, since it has not even been brought to the attention of the parliament.

In an interview before he embarked for Sankt Petersburg, where he signed the CIS trade agreement, Yanukovych said that releasing Tymoshenko may not even be a good idea, since she is to face another trial and setting her free would mean conveying the message to the people that in order to walk free after being charged with corruption one must be a member of the opposition.

Tymoshenko is to face another trial, documented by the Ukrainian security services, in which she is accused of embezzling $450 million in the 1990s, when she was the head of the national company of energy. If found guilty, she risks another 12 years behind bars, which is sure to put an end to her political career.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister said earlier in the week that his country had been preparing for the EU tough stance on pursuing the integration schedule. He said that this would only show Ukrainians that Europe is against them, and would push the country toward closer relations with Moscow, though the leaders in Kremlin showed as much discomfort to the news that Tymoshenko was sentenced as their Western friends. The Russians catalogued it as an anti-Russian decision.

Nevertheless, the signing by Ukraine of the CIS free trade agreement sent a wave of hope to the leaders of the Customs Union, prompting Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin to say that at this rate, with energetic effort thrown behind this project, the Eurasian Union could become to function by 2015.

In Ukraine, former president Viktor Yushchenko said in an interview that the signing of the CIS document shut the door of integration for Ukraine.

If confirmed by the Ukrainian part, the invitation to Brussels for mid-November could mean a reaction of the European body to the fact that Ukrainian people cannot be cultivated the anti-European sentiment, if one wants to see Ukraine become a member of this union.

In 2008, the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, had to postpone the admission of Ukraine, after Russia opposed the idea. A postponement of the admission to EU would give Yanukovych the possibility to take the country into the opposite direction, toward the Eurasian Union, which would give him, like Putin suggested, a strengt position from which to negotiate.

Fixing a new date for the resumption of negotiations could also be construed as a deadline to which the “Tymoshenko problem” to be solved.

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