EU to not sign Association Agreement with Ukraine if Tymoshenko not released - lawyers
KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax) - The European Union will not sign the Association Agreement with Ukraine if the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on case of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is not complied with and she is not released, lawyers said.
"I do not suppose the [EU-Ukraine Association] Agreement can be signed if Tymoshenko is not released," Ukrainian ambassador, international lawyer Volodymyr Vasylenko said at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to Vasylenko, the release of Tymoshenko is "the main condition of the EU."
The case of Tymoshenko is "a case of the president's political responsibility," the lawyer said. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych must realize "that no compliance with the ECHR judgment undermines Ukraine's hopes for EU integration," he said.
"If he ignores this, then he is not the Ukrainian president," Vasylenko said.
The ECHR judgment regarding Tymoshenko "has come into effect a long time ago," Verkhovna Rada Deputy Roman Zvarych said.
"So Tymoshenko must be released from prison, the legal status she had prior to the ruling of the Ukrainian judges must be restored," Zvarych said.