KIEV, April 11 - President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday ruled out giving a pardon to jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko until courts issue final rulings on her appeal of a seven-year jail sentence and two other cases currently underway.

Yanukovych responded to question less than a week after he had pardoned the second most prominent Ukrainian opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister.

"Until legal proceedings against Tymoshenko are completed, the issue of pardoning is not possible,” Yanukovych told reporters while on a trip to Mykolayiv, Unian news agency reported.

The fate of Tymoshenko is watched in the context of singing of a free trade and political association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union that may take place in November.

The release of Lutsenko, who was jailed to four years in prison, was praised by western politicians a step in the right direction by Ukraine, opening door for signing the agreement with the EU.

Tymoshenko, arrested in August 2011, was jailed to seven years in prison in October 2011.

Prosecutors launched two more cases against Tymoshenko: one on alleged embezzlements during the time when she was the president of a private energy company and the other one on allegedly ordering murder of a prominent politician in 1996. Prosecutors seek life in prison for Tymoshenko on the murder case.

Tymoshenko denied both accusations as politically motivated.

But Yanukovych suggested that her pardoning authority cane be used only after all other methods of legal defense are exhausted by Tymoshenko.

“My powers kick in after this legal process is completed,” Yanukovych said. “The sooner the legal proceedings are finished, the sooner it becomes possible to address the pardon issue.”

The Ukrainian authorities have shown little sign of relenting in Tymoshenko case. Indeed, apart from the charge for which she is currently in prison, she is also being prosecuted for alleged embezzlement and tax evasion.

Separately, pre-trial hearings are being conducted in a third case against her over allegations she ordered a contract killing of a local businessman and parliament deputy in 1996 - a charge which carries a sentence of life imprisonment. (tl/ez)