| www.euronews.com Mykola Azarov became Ukraine's prime minister in March 2010. Since then his premiership has come under sharp focus in Europe and beyond with concerns over the treatment of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko who is currently serving a seven year prison sentence on charges of abuse of office. Mykola Azarov spoke with Euronews correspondent, Sergio Cantone. Sergio Cantone euronews: "Prime minister welcome to euronews. There are a lot of concerns in the EU, especially among the EU leaders about the situation concerning the rule of law in Ukraine, Merkel, the chancellor of Germany compared Ukraine to a dictatorship, compared Ukraine to Belarus, so what is your idea about it? Mykola Azarov, Ukraine's Prime Minister: "Just a few days spent in Ukraine, or maybe more, would be enough for anyone to be sure that there's no dictatorship in Ukraine, and neither is there any political repression. Democratic political parties are active in Ukraine, some of them are represented in the parliament, some of them not. We have total freedom of expression. I personally regard (Mrs. Merkel's) remark to be politically incorrect. It doesn't help to strengthen bilateral relations between Germany and Ukraine, and moreover, between Ukraine and the EU as a whole. Euronews: "Don't you think that you have to find a way out from this situation that is putting your country in a terrible stalemate vis-à-vis your partners in the west?" Mykola Azarov: "Mrs. Tymoshenko was not convicted for her ... |
