Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich is seeking to outmaneuver the European Union in a tussle over the fate of jailed opponent Yulia Tymoshenko by threatening to pull out of a landmark trade pact next week, a European diplomatic source said on Wednesday.
The source quoted Yanukovich as saying in a meeting with an EU representative: "The current situation does not allow me to sign." But the source said he believed Yanukovich was bluffing to secure better financial terms from the 28-member bloc in return for signing the free trade and cooperation deal.
Ukraine is scheduled to sign the far-reaching agreement at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on November 29, marking a strategic shift westwards for the former Soviet republic away from Russia.
But success in Vilnius has been thrown into jeopardy by a wrangle over the plight of ex-prime minister Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's fiercest opponent, whom he only narrowly defeated in a run-off vote in February 2010.
The 52-year-old politician was jailed in 2011 for seven years for abuse of office after a trial which Western governments say was political. Most EU governments would like to see her released before the summit.
Anxious to prise Ukraine away from Russia's historic embrace, the EU has focused efforts on a compromise by having Ukraine adopt a law under which Tymoshenko would qualify for going to Germany for treatment. She suffers from chronic back trouble.
Yanukovich, who fears Tymoshenko's political rehabilitation could harm his chances of re-election in 2015, has stalled over letting her go.
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