Former European Commissioner for Enlargement Günter Verheugen has warned Ukraine’s leadership that they face political isolation, according to the Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko.

“There is a risk of Ukraine’s isolation,” Günter Verheugen said in an interview with Deutsche Welle radiowhen asked if the fact that the EU has suspended financial assistance to Ukraine and that European leaders ignored a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych is evidence of Ukraine’s possible political isolation.

The German politician did not deny that the situation is related to the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. “This trial has become the launch button for the freezing of relations. The Ukrainian government was aware of this risk – they were reminded of it often enough. And the government deliberately did this,” he said.

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The former EU commissioner believes relations between the EU and Ukraine are in a frozen state and that European integration is experiencing stagnation. “The next stage of the deepening of relations between Ukraine and the European Union has been postponed,” he said.

Günter Verheugen also suggested that the fate of the EU-Ukraine association agreement will depend on the 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine and their compliance with democratic standards and the principles of the rule of law. “Only after this will the EU make a decision,” he stressed.

He concluded that the deciding factor for Ukraine will be the consistent adherence to the principles of rule of law, the full introduction of which will help resolve problems associated with the name Yulia Tymoshenko.