KIEV, Oct 11: A Ukrainian court sentenced former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko to seven years in prison on Tuesday for abuse of office in relation to a 2009 gas deal with Russia that she brokered.

The United States, Russia and the European Union reacted sharply to the verdict and the sentence, the maximum sought by state prosecutors.

The White House said in a statement it was “deeply disappointed” about the verdict and had “serious concerns” about Kiev's commitment to democracy.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, speaking on a visit to Beijing, said it could jeopardise energy relations between the two former Soviet states.

In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc was “deeply disappointed”.

Tymoshenko's supporters say the trial was part of President Viktor Yanukovich's plans to eliminate her as his only real opposition.

If she ends up serving a long prison term, she will be unable to contest a parliamentary election next year or run again for president in 2015.

Judge Rodion Kireyev handed down the seven-year sentence at the end of a three-month trial that threw a spotlight on a 10-year contract with Russia, signed by the charismatic opposition leader when she was prime minister.

The 2009 agreement between the state energy firm Naftogaz and Russia's gas giant Gazprom ended a pricing dispute between the two countries which had led to disruptions of gas supplies to some EU countries. It was greeted with relief by Europe at the time.

But the government under Yanukovich, who beat Tymoshenko in a fight for the presidency in February last year and forced her out as prime minister, says the deal saddled Ukraine with an exorbitant price for Russian gas.—Reuters