Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany Pavlo Klimkin has said that Germany's official position concerning the conditions necessary for the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU hasn't changed, and Berlin still expects Kyiv to address the issue of selective justice.
In an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on reports in Ukrainian media outlets that the release of former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko is no longer essential for the signing of the Association Agreement, Klimkin said: "One should ask the author where he got such information. Several days after this information was published, Berlin (without any reference to the article) issued a statement reading that the progress towards the signing of the Agreement depends on further progress in the area of the rule of law."
When asked how crucial the matter of Tymoshenko's medical treatment in Germany is for the signing of the association agreement and how much time it will take the Bundestag, the German parliament, to ratify the relevant international treaties, the Ukrainian diplomat noted that Berlin had always said it was ready to facilitate Tymoshenko's treatment in Germany.
"The legal aspects [of sending the ex-premier for treatment abroad] should be settled by Kyiv. The Bundestag has its procedures for the ratification of treaties. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that the elections will take place on September 22, and until that time, the Bundestag will meet literally for two days to vote on the budget. The new parliament will actually start working after a coalition is formed and a coalition agreement is signed. In Germany, this usually takes a few weeks," the ambassador explained.
When asked if German Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal sympathy to Tymoshenko affects the official position of Berlin towards Ukraine and the signing of the association agreement, Klimkin indicated that he, as the ambassador, was in no position to judge the personal preferences of the chancellor.
"At the same time, almost all German politicians, journalists and experts told me that Mrs. Merkel is well known as a person who takes very balanced and very well-informed decisions. She has been in politics for many years. She has both a strategic vision and what is called a political instinct. This is the point of view of the whole of the German political community," Klimkin told the agency.
He also said Germany took very seriously the work of the European Parliament's observers - former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and former European Parliament President Pat Cox.
