Canada to send doctors to assess former Ukrainian PM Tymoshenko

The Canadian government will send three doctors to Ukraine to assess the health of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Foreign Minister John Baird said on Friday. "Canada is very pleased that our government's interventions have paved the way for three Canadian doctors to participate in the international medical commission being established by the government of Ukraine to independently assess the health of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko," Baird said in a statement. Canadian politicians are sensitive to the situation in Ukraine, as Canada has more than one million ethnic Ukrainians living mainly in the west of the country. The Ukrainian community provides strong support for Canada's conservative government. Tymoshenko was jailed in October 2011 for seven years on charges of abuse of office for her role in the brokerage of a natural gas deal with Russia. On Thursday, her daughter Eugenia Tymoshenko claimed the authorities at Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv, Ukraine, have misdiagnosed a serious medical condition and are denying painkilling medication to the former prime minister. "While this is a welcome development, we hope that outstanding issues can be resolved expeditiously to allow doctors access to Ms. Tymoshenko as soon as possible. Ms. Tymoshenko's health, diagnosis and treatment should remain the primary focus of all involved," Baird said. "Canada remains concerned by the apparently arbitrary and politically biased nature of judicial proceedings against Ms. Tymoshenko and other individuals, which undermine the rule of law. We stand ready to work with Ukraine to help build a democratic, open and prosperous society," he added. Baird said that he made a similar offer last November of doctors for a medical assessment. The Canadian doctors, who have asked that their names not be made public at this time, will arrive in Kiev as early as this weekend.