U.S. urges Ukraine to clear all obstacles to ink EU deal

November 14, 2013 - 17:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States has urged Ukraine to clear all remaining obstacles to a landmark trade agreement with the European Union and leave historical grievances behind it, according to RIA Novosti.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in remarks posted on a U.S. government website Wednesday, November 13 that Kiev should approve judicial and electoral reforms, and allow the release of jailed former Prime Minister Tymoshenko for medical treatment.

“We join the EU in urging Ukraine’s leaders to make the right historic choice for their 45 million citizens – to choose their children’s future over the grievances of the past,” Nuland said.

The EU Eastern Partnership Summit, at which Ukraine has been hoping to sign the association agreement with the European Union, is scheduled to start in Lithuania on November 28.

But prospects for that agreement look grim with Ukraine having failed to take any concrete steps on allowing Tymoshenko, who is suffering from a debilitating back condition, to seek necessary medical treatment.

Tymoshenko, a prominent opposition leader, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011 for abuse of power over a gas contract with Russia that was determined to be financially unfavorable for Ukraine. She insists that the charges were politically motivated.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last month that the EU would be ready to sign the free-trade agreement with Ukraine at the Lithuania summit only if a "suitable solution" was found for Tymoshenko.

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Eastern Partnership

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is the first comprehensive initiative introduced into the system of the European Union’s external relations, addressed to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership is designed to help the countries of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus with their approximation to and integration with the European Union. The EaP has injected a new quality into relations between the EU and the countries covered by the initiative through their gradual integration with the European Union.