KIEV, July 15 - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday defended Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steel company, in its escalating dispute with the country’s privatization agency over its Ukrainian steel assets.

Tymoshenko responded to a statement from the State Property Fund seeking to sue Arcelor Mittal for alleged failure to implement some commitments undertaken after acquiring Ukraine’s biggest steelmaker Kryvorizhstal in 2005.