Ukraine ‘extremely close’ to securing Yulia Tymoshenko’s release in step towards EU deal

Anna Sonny, 11 October 2013

The imprisonment of former Ukrainian president Yulia Tymoshenko has been a permanent stumbling block in relations between Ukraine and the EU. The detention of the popular leader of the Orange Revolution is widely seen as politically motivated and has been an uncomfortable reminder of Ukraine’s selective justice system. The issue came to the fore last year during the Euro Championship that were held in the former Soviet state and now stands between Ukraine and its possible accession to the EU.

Tymoshenko came to office in 2005, following a campaign against a corrupt election in 2004, which overturned the victory of the current President Viktor Yanukovych. Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office over a gas deal with Russia but many believe her detention was politically manoeuvred in an attempt to prevent her from making a comeback and challenging Yanukovych’s presidency in 2015.

Last month Ukraine signed a draft agreement with the EU, which is to be formally signed this November at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. The agreement will include a free trade pact, on the conditions that Ukraine reforms its justice system and makes changes to the way elections are run. The EU has explicitly stated that Ukraine’s journey towards EU accession will not be possible unless Tymoshenko is freed.

So far, Yanukovych has claimed that he does not have the power to overturn the decision of the courts, but Prime Minister Mykola Azarov  said the country is now ‘extremely close’ to freeing the opposition politician. It seems the possibility of EU membership is providing motivation for Ukraine to clean up on its human rights record. This is not good news for Russia, on the other hand, who has been struggling to retain its influence over the former Soviet nation and has been pushing for Kiev to join its Eurasian Union – a trading bloc similar to the EU but without the democratic conditions. It seems like Russia is losing the battle for Ukraine. Tymoshenko’s release would be a landmark step in putting right Ukraine’s selective justice system, and a victory for the EU.