In Letter From Prison, Tymoshenko Asks EU To Cooperate With Ukraine

Yulia Tymoshenko said the agreement would be "a historic breakthrough to the European dream of Ukraine's people."

Jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has asked the European Union to go ahead with a planned association agreement with Ukraine despite its disapproval of her imprisonment.

The United States and the EU have harshly condemned Tymoshenko's seven-year sentence on abuse-of-office charges last month as politically motivated.

Last month, the EU called off a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych, Tymoshenko's political rival.

Some EU diplomats have said a December summit, when the agreement is meant to be signed, could be in jeopardy.

In an appeal from prison on November 2, Tymoshenko said the agreement would be "a historic breakthrough to the European dream of Ukraine's people" and urged the EU not to break it because of her fate.

Tymoshenko has denied any wrongdoing and says the trial, verdict, and sentence were a political vendetta by Yanukovych, who narrowly beat her for the presidency in 2010.

compiled from agency reports