Lutsenko's pardon should be viewed in context of Ukraine's integration with EU, says foreign ministry

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said that President Viktor Yanukovych's decree pardoning several convicted persons, including former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, comes as part of a decriminalization drive and efforts to make Ukrainian laws more humane.

"This decision has been adopted as the Ukrainian president continues to pursue his policy aimed at decriminalizing certain offenses, making Ukrainian legislation more humane and bringing it into line with European standards in the sphere of human rights and freedoms," the ministry's acting spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis said at a press briefing.

The decree should be viewed "in the broader context of the economic and social reforms being implemented by the president and government of Ukraine," he said.

These reforms, which deal with the justice system, electoral laws and other key issues of Ukraine's integration into the EU, are on the agenda of the Ukraine-European Union association project, the ministry said.