by car from Kyiv. Yushchenko testified against his former ally Yulia Tymoshenko during her trial over a 2009 natural gas treaty she brokered with Russia; a trial he called "a normal judicial process". Yushchenko's view differed from that of the European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who said in a statement the Tymoshenko verdict showed justice was being applied "selectively in politically motivated prosecutions". Late September 2011 Yushchenko stated he intended to run for parliament on an Our Ukraine party ticket at the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary elections. Mid-February 2012 Yushchenko stated he was ready to take part in this election on a list of the united opposition, but not in a majority constituency. In these election Yushchenko headed the election list of Our Ukraine; the party won 1.11% of the national votes and no constituencies and thus failed to win parliamentary representation. In February 2013 Yushchenko intended to be a candidate during the next presidential election (at the time scheduled to be in 2015). Euromaidan and 2014 election In an interview with the French radio station Europe 1 in March 2014, Yushchenko stated that he supported the Euromaidan protests and opposed the Russian invasion in Crimea, noting that in his view "Putin dreams of reconstructing the Soviet empire under the name of Russia. He is so obsessed with this that he hasn't understood power balance." He further stated that "Crimea isn't Russian; rather it is Ukrainian". With regard to the 2014 presidential election, Yushchenko indicated his support for Vitali Klitschko, and described Tymoshenko as "the candidate of Moscow". Yushchenko himself did not stand as a candidate in these elections. Political positions On 31 March 2009, in his address to the nation before Parliament, Yushchenko proposed sweeping government reform changes and an economic and social plan to ameliorate current economic conditions in Ukraine and apparently to respond to standing structural problems in Ukraine's political system. The proposal, which Yushchenko called a 'next big step forward for fairness and prosperity in Ukraine' included the following proposals: Restore financial stability in the country by implementing the International Monetary Fund reforms and a balanced budget Abolish parliamentary immunity Fair pension system based on the number of years of work and salary received Pass a realistic state budget for 2009 that reduces inflation and stabilizes the hryvnia Have the state assume responsibility for struggling banks Rejuvenate rural areas by eliminating state interference in