REPORT: Ukraine's parliament move could pave way for freeing jailed Tymoshenko

Ukraine's parliament on Friday voted for amendments in the criminal code which could pave the way for the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
   
The amendments would decriminalize aspects of the criminal code relevant to her prosecution and set Ukrainian law in line with European Union legislation, her supporters said.

Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and long-standing rival of President Viktor Yanukovich, was narrowly defeated by him in a run-off for the presidency in February 2010.
   
She was jailed in 2011 for seven years for abuse of office linked to a gas deal she brokered with Russia as prime minister after a trial denounced as political by the European Union.
   
Andriy Kozhemyakin, a pro-Tymoshenko deputy, said the move would do away with Soviet-era legislation that allows people in power to destroy political opponents. "We must cut this knot," he said.

This as Ukraine's parliament voted to dismiss acting Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko for using "violence" against protesters during the wave of street unrest.
   
Zakharchenko is a hated figure on Kiev's Independence Square because of several police crackdowns on anti-government protesters. His dismissal will be seen as a victory for the protest movement.
 
This comes as the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that the future for Ukraine will be very challenging and depend on how well Friday's deal aimed at settling the crisis is implemented, .   

"Implementation is going to be key and very challenging," Ashton told reporters in London. She said she had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and agreed that the violence in Ukraine must stop.   

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich signed an agreement with three opposition leaders on Friday to end a crisis that sparked violent clashes between protesters and police on the streets of the capital Kiev.  

When asked whether the EU would lift sanctions in light of the deal, Ashton said it would depend on information from EU foreign ministers on the ground in Ukraine.  

"We will make the decisions in the light of what their information is telling us. It is important to synchronise this properly," she said.
   
Meanwhile, a Russian envoy sent to Kiev by President Vladimir Putin said talks to resolve Ukraine's crisis produced progress, but indicated Moscow had questions about the EU-brokered peace deal  and confirmed he did not sign it, Interfax reported.
   
"Certain questions still remain, consultations will continue, this is a normal process," Interfax quoted Vladimir Lukin as saying after returning to Moscow.

A Reuters correspondent at the signing in the presidential headquarters said Yanukovich did not smile during a ceremony lasting several minutes.
   
The agreement followed an announcement by Yanukovich to hold early elections, to form a national unity government and relinquish some of his presidential powers. The agreement was witnessed by two European Union foreign ministers who brokered the deal.

Earlier, a council representing anti-government protesters in Kiev backed a draft agreement with President Viktor Yanukovich on ending the country's crisis but set conditions, an opposition leader was quoted as saying.
   
Interfax news agency quoted Oleh Tyahnibok, a far-right leader, as saying the deal should stand only if there were guarantees that the present interior minister and prosecutor-general were not included in any interim government.
   
A European Union source said the council had voted to back the draft deal after talks with two EU foreign ministers. The protesters' backing had emerged as the main obstacle to the deal being signed.

France's foreign minister, involved in European mediation in Ukraine, voiced caution about President Viktor Yanukovich's announcement of a deal to end the political crisis, saying opposition leaders needed time to consult.

"The opposition wants to consult with some of its members, which is entirely understandable," Laurent Fabius said in a live interview on Europe 1 radio.

"In this sort of situation, as long as things haven't really been wrapped up, it's important to remain very cautious."

Fabius left Kiev during the night for Beijing but said he had been in touch with his colleagues, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany and Radoslaw Sikorski, who stayed on to try to conclude the negotiations on Friday.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian police shot back when protesters opened fire on officers between the main protest square in Kiev and the parliament building, a police statement said.

The White House expressed renewed outrage over the continuing deadly violence in Ukraine, and Secretary of State John Kerry late Thursday said the US has started "implementing sanctions through travel bans on Ukrainians responsible for the violence.

The White House said Vice President Joe Biden, the Obama administration's prime contact with President Viktor Yanukovych in recent days, spoke to the Ukrainian leader by telephone Thursday afternoon and made clear that the US is prepared to sanction officials responsible for the violence.

In Brussels, the 28-nation European Union decided Thursday in an emergency meeting to impose sanctions against those behind the violence, including a travel ban and an asset freeze against some Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian government snipers fired upon advancing protesters in the capital, Kiev, on Thursday, killing at least 70 people and wounding hundreds of others. At least 101 people have died this week in the clashes, according to protesters and Ukrainian authorities, a sharp and deadly turn in three months of mostly peaceful activity.

The White House has urged Yanukovych to withdraw forces from downtown Kiev immediately.

Military action by the US is not among the options being considered, deputy spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Several thousand protesters milled around Independence Square, known as the Maidan, which earlier this week was rocked by street battles between protesters and police that have left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

The protests began three months ago after Yanukovych shelved an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.


REUTERS/AP


To watch Josiane Rahme's report, please click on the VIDEO above