Ukraine, EU presidents meet to discuss Tymoshenko puzzle

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met with three European presidents on October 7 to discuss resolving the conflict over imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper reported, citing anonymous sources. The EU has ruled out signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement without Tymoshenko’s release, an option that is opposed by the German government, the report said.

The options being considered are either Yanukovych pardons Tymoshenko, or he allows her to seek medical treatment in Germany with her conviction and prison sentence to remain intact. “This was a conversation on the prospects of removing the last barriers on the road to a successful summit in Vilnius,” the newspaper quoted Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski as stating, referring to the Eastern Partnership summit on November 28-29.

Zenon Zawada: It’s positive that Yanukovych is actively participating in such meetings and we expect a compromise will be reached, though it could be quite convoluted. Despite certain options being allegedly ruled out, such as signing the Association Agreement with Tymoshenko in prison, we advise observers to keep in mind that, “With Ukraine, never say never.” What could be alleged as impossible now may be reality next month. Nevertheless, we see her release to Germany for medical treatment (without a pardon) as the most likely outcome, particularly since Tymoshenko has not even asked for a pardon (though her lawyer wants one).