<blockquote>'He said Ukraine stood at an "historic" point with negotiations between the EU and Kiev on an agreement drawing to a close.
The deal, he said, would "effectively" make Ukraine a part of the EU's single market, "opening access to the world's richest trading block".
He said, "With this deal, Ukraine is at an important point in its history.
"The most important now is that the progress that had been made in negotiations between the two sides continues."
The Belgian-born entrepreneur, whose company is 50 per cent owned by BP, said, "Derailing the process now on the basis of what is happening with the former prime minister would be quite wrong.
"That is not to say, however, that we should stop debating the Tymoshenko case because we should not." '
- Martin Banks,
EU told to 'de-couple' Tymoshenko case from Ukraine trade deal, 18th October 2011</blockquote>