Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich assured the European Union yesterday that the “painful” issue of his jailed rival, ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, would be settled soon, clearing the way for landmark agreements to be signed next month.

Western governments have pressed hard for the release of Tymoshenko, Yanukovich’s arch-foe who was jailed for seven years in 2011 after what they said was a political trial.

But pressure to relent has mounted on Yanukovich as EU governments increasingly linked her release to the signing of association and free trade agreements in late November. The planned agreements, due to be signed in Vilnius, Lithuania, on November 28-29, represent the main foreign policy ambition of the Yanukovich presidency and could lead to a historic shift westwards for Ukraine away from Russia, the old Soviet master.

Apart from EU pressure over Tymoshenko, Yanukovich has been assailed by Moscow over his Euro-integration course. Kremlin aides say it will lead to Russian markets being threatened by EU goods and will cause Russia to take protectionist measures.

Greeting EU commissioner Stefan Fuele yesterday, Yanukovich explained the steps taken by Ukraine to meet democratic reforms requested by the 28-member bloc ahead of the Vilnius summit.

These include ending the application of what the EU calls selective justice – meaning politically-driven prosecutions such as Tymoshenko’s.

The 52-year-old Tymoshenko was found guilty of abuse of office for brokering a disadvantageous gas deal with Russia in 2009 as prime minister.

“We still have to face a most painful question – this is the question of Tymoshenko,” Yanukovich said in comments to Fuele broadcast on state TV.

“We are seeking a way (out) and I hope that very soon we will conclusively work out by what means we can settle this question.”

Yanukovich and Tymoshenko are old rivals going back years and most commentators agree that the personal nature of their feud has made the problem difficult to solve.

She was a leading light in the Orange Revolution street protests of 2004-5 which doomed his first bid for the presidency and she ran him close in a presidential election in February 2010 after a bitterly-fought campaign.

But Yanukovich said the Ukrainian side was now actively working with EU envoys who have been mediating to secure a pardon for Tymoshenko from him.