Ukraine MP offers details to solution of Tymoshenko puzzle

Oleksandr Yefremov, the parliamentary faction chair of the Party of Regions, outlined on October 11 the legislation that would be needed to enable imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seek medical treatment in Germany, as being required by the EU for signing the Association Agreement with Ukraine. Such legislation should apply to all prisoners who need medical help but can’t receive it in Ukraine, Yefremov said, as reported by the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper on October 14. It should ensure that the prisoner being released truly undergoes treatment and returns to Ukraine to serve the remainder of his sentence. Such guarantees must be offered by the government accepting the prisoner, he said.

“If that’s left out, then all our criminal authorities will undergo treatment in the Charite clinic,” Yefremov said, noting that his proposal is his personal effort that hasn’t been approved by the faction. He called upon Tymoshenko’s lawyers to submit a draft bill with such measures to parliament.

It’s very likely that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will arrange for Tymoshenko’s release before the Eastern Partnership summit on November 28-29 in Vilnius, former EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Policy Javier Solana told the Deutsche Welle news agency on October 12. “It’s very likely that Yulia Tymoshenko will go to Germany and this big problem will be temporarily resolved,” he said.

Zenon Zawada: What Yefremov has outlined is the most likely scenario we see unfolding in the Tymoshenko situation. EU leaders have said they can’t accept a solution in which Tymoshenko would return to prison. Yet given that it’s unlikely Yanukovych will pardon Tymoshenko, there are few options left besides the arrangement offered by Yefremov. Solana’s quote is revealing in that it confirms the EU leadership would be willing to agree to a temporary solution to the problem, which at minimum removes Tymoshenko from prison.

At the same time, the Party of Regions has shown in the past that it can offer such proposals, only to leave them hanging in the wind unfulfilled. Similar proposals of releasing Tymoshenko surfaced at the time of her conviction, which were never followed through. So while Yefremov’s proposal offers the best way out of the situation, in our view, it doesn’t improve the likelihood of Tymoshenko’s release.