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No discussion of Yanukovych criminal prosecution by Ukraine salvation committee — ex-PM

Igor Markov, a former Ukrainian lawmaker, said that Yanukovych "was to blame no less than the current regime"

Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky

Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych

© ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. The issue of possible criminal prosecution of Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych was not discussed by the Committee for Salvation of Ukraine, the country’s ex-premier and the committee’s chairman, Mykola Azarov, said on Monday.

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"A lot of criminal cases have been opened against him in Ukraine and I don’t know how grounded they are," he told journalists. "Let us wait and see. I think that when Ukraine finally has normal democratic authorities, with a normal legal system, all who have ever committed crimes or offences will have to be liable for them. If there are any charges against Yanukovych, he, as a Ukrainian citizen, should have a possibility to defend himself. Anyway, investigation of his cases should be objective and unbiased."

Azarov also said that neither Yanukovych nor people from his circle would join the Committee for Salvation of Ukraine. "It is a disputable question and I always try to avoid extremities, but when the committee was discussing this issue, we’ve decided that those who had close ties with Ukraine’s former president should not join the committee," Azarov said. "Naturally, I will obey this decision as a chairman."

Meanwhile, Igor Markov, a former Verkhovna Rada (parliament) lawmaker, said that Yanukovych "was to blame no less than the current regime."

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Ukraine crisis Viktor Yanukovych

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