Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk believes the Ukrainian government should find a civilized way to release former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison before the beginning of the Euro-2012 football championship that will be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, according to the Official web site of Yulia Tymoshenko. "I made it clear to the prime minister and president of Ukraine that the Tymoshenko case is a test for the current Ukrainian government to see whether they deserve to be trusted, and that Ukraine’s reputation will seriously suffer if they don’t find a civilized solution by the European championship,” Donald Tusk said at a press conference today.
According to him, Polish government officials warned Ukraine’s top leadership on several occasions that politics shouldn’t interfere in a sporting event.
The Polish premier expressed confidence that they will find forms of pressure to ensure a humane resolution to the Yulia Tymoshenko matter. “I’m not against it if all Polish fans, including myself, send a letter before the European championship. Let it be thousands, tens of thousands of letters to the Ukrainian government for the sake of Polish-Ukrainian friendship, for the good of the championship. Yulia Tymoshenko should be free,” Donald Tusk stressed, reports the official website of the Polish government.
The head of the Polish government said that he, as a senior government official and ordinary Polish football fan, hopes the Polish team will do well. “I dream, although it’s a very distant dream, that we will play in the final in Kyiv, so how can I urge a boycott,” he added.
He also said that even during the football championship, European politicians can clearly demonstrate their solidarity with Yulia Tymoshenko.
