Source: Reuters
Ukraine attacks soccer boycott as Cold War tactic
By Olzhas Auyezov
KIEV | Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:30pm EDT
(Reuters) - Ukraine described threats by European powers to shun the Euro soccer championship it will host in June as a return to Cold War tactics on Monday, after several leaders called off their visits over the treatment of a leading opposition politician.
Relations between Ukraine and the European Union have been strained by the conviction of Yulia Tymoshenko - the main political rival of President Viktor Yanukovich - last October, a case her supporters say was politically driven.
A German government spokesman said any visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel during the tournament would be linked to Tymoshenko's fate. Several other leaders also said they would scrap plans to visit Ukraine over the case.
"I would not like to think that German state leaders can reanimate methods of the Cold War period and make sports a hostage of politics," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleh Voloshin told Interfax news agency.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/30/us-ukraine-tymoshenko-idUSBRE83T0R620120430