Poland's FM in Kyiv after Tymoshenko protest

Ten MPs belonging to the jailed former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna party unfurled a banner with her portrait on it, and began chanting for her freedom, as President Viktor Yanukovich made his keynote speech at the beginning of the parliamentary term.

Tymoshenko was given a seven year jail sentence last year for “abuse of power” when, as prime minister in 2008, she signed a gas deal with Russia which it is alleged led to millions of dollars of loses to the Ukrainian state.

The objecting MPs kept up their noisy protest for 30 minutes, forcing Yanukovich to raise his voice to be heard.

Poland's foreign minister, Radek Sikorski will be having talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Kostyantyn Hryshchenko today on Ukraine's EU association agreement, which Poland hoped would be signed last year during their six-month EU presidency.

The talks on the agreement stalled, however, over the imprisonment of Tymoshenko, which Warsaw, Brussels and Washington all regard was made on politically motivated charges.

Sikorski will also be discussing how to make the process of granting visas to Ukrainians who want to travel to Poland in the summer for the Euro 2012 football championships, which are to be co-hosted by both countries. (pg/jb)