Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Sunday vowed to keep building a democratic state in 2012.
“We will keep modernizing our country, keep building a modern, economically developed, democratic state,” Yanukovych said in his New Year’s address aired on the country’s TV channels on Sunday.
The international community and Ukrainian opposition have questioned the issue of democracy in Ukraine over investigation of criminal cases against former officials, in particular, ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko, 51, was jailed in October 2011 for seven years on abuse of office charges over a gas deal she concluded with Russia in 2009. The verdict was internationally condemned as politically motivated. The ex-premier said she is a victim of a conspiracy by Yanukovych, her long-time political opponent. The Ukrainian authorities denied the allegations.
Yanukovych, 61, also said his country has reached a new level of relations with the EU.
Ukraine and the EU have finalized negotiations on the Association Agreement, a deal that could set the former Soviet republic on the way to full membership, but the EU said the signing and ratification of the agreement will depend on the situation around Tymoshenko and on Ukraine’s 2012 parliamentary elections.
