Russian President Vladimir Putin said contracts that jailed former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko signed a few years ago are not out of line with Ukrainian laws.
“As regards Mrs. Tymoshenko and her conviction, Russia’s and my position is known: Mrs. Tymoshenko was convicted for signing gas contracts with the Russian Federation,” Putin told journalists after talks with his French counterpart Francois Hollande when asked on the issue.
“Prior to the signing of the contracts, our lawyers thoroughly analyzed both Russian, international and Ukrainian laws. We never sign contracts contradicting the laws of the contract partner country, in this case Ukraine,” Putin said.
Tymoshenko, the heroine of Ukraine's 2004 Orange revolution, was jailed for seven years for abuse of office at a controversial trial in October 2011, which was condemned by Russia and Western governments as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko pushed through a 2009 gas deal with Russia. Authorities in Ukraine say the deal has caused multi-billion-dollar losses to the country’s economy and deny accusations that the trial was politically motivated.
