Move to pardon Tymoshenko ally

Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych said yesterday he will consider pardoning a jailed ally of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, in an apparent move to ease tensions with the West.

Tymoshenko and her former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko have been imprisoned on charges of abuse of office. Both deny the charges, which have been condemned as politically motivated by the West.