Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Rybak has welcomed the pardon of former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko.

"I appreciate the fact that the president pardoned Lutsenko," he told journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The speaker also added: "Let God help him improve his health."

When asked whether Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will pardon former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Rybak said: "As for Tymoshenko, I cannot say anything, because the investigation is underway... I'm not responsible for that matter."