West welcomes Tymoshenko pardon

Ukraine’s president has pardoned a former interior minister and a close ally of imprisoned former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

President Viktor Yanukovych signed a decree today to pardon Yuri Lutsenko who is serving a four-year sentence on corruption charges.

Mrs Tymoshenko is also serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2011 of abuse office.

The West has called both cases politically motivated.

The European Union has warned that it will not sign a key cooperation agreement with Kiev until those two cases are resolved.

The state prison service said that Mr Lutsenko has already been freed.