President of the Czech Republic is not going to Ukraine either because of the Timoshenko case

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has canceled his participation in the summit of presidents of Central European countries, which will be held in mid-May in the Crimea –  Ukrainskaya Pravda reports.

The representative of the Czech president said that the decision is connected with the case of ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Earlier it was reported that Germany, Austria and Slovenia are not coming to the Crimean summit either.

In addition, German Minister of Environment Norbert Rettgen told German publication Bild, that the "dictatorship" in Ukraine should not be given the opportunity to obtain support of its image with the help of Euro 2012 championship in June.
According to him, "visits of the presidents or prime ministers (to Ukraine) should be excluded in the present circumstances."
The minister also urged the Ukrainian authorities to "immediately free" Tymoshenko.
His words were confirmed to the agency Associated Press on Sunday by his spokesman Yulika Lendvay.

As the agency writes, it seems to be the first direct appeal of the Minister-level European official to boycott the Ukrainian part of the European Football Championship.

 On Friday, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told the agency in an interview that in the current circumstances a boycott of championship matches in Ukraine by the principal officials is quite possible, but did not explicitly call for it.

The Minister of the in Germany cannot find the words to define foreign policy, but Norbert Rettgen is an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who herself is critical of the Kiev’s attitude to the case of Tymoshenko.
Another German edition Der Spiegel reported that Merkel is reflecting on the political boycott of Euro 2012 in Ukraine, Tymoshenko is not released before the start of the championship.

"If the opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who is now in jail, is not released before the start of Euro 2012, Merkel will recommend to the ministers of her government not to go to matches in Ukraine", – says the publication.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine suggested that the German boycott may be associated with their desire to take away Ukraine’s right to host Euro 2012.