Another Georgian ex-official offered high-ranking Ukraine post

Georgia’s former Deputy Interior Minister Ekaterine Zguladze is expected to take the same post in Ukraine’s new government after she was granted Ukrainian citizenship yesterday.

Zguladze, 36, who served as Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister under ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration, may become the second former Georgian official to take a senior governmental role in Ukraine. Earlier this month Georgia’s ex-Health Minister Aleksandre Kvitashvili was appointed as Ukraine’s Health Minister.

When granting Zguladze Ukrainian citizenship, president Petro Poroshenko said Zguladze was an ideal candidate for the role of First Deputy Interior Minister and expressed hope she would help eradicate corruption in the Ukrainian traffic police.

Granted Ukrainian citizenship to Kateryna Zguladze, a candidate to First Deputy Interior Minister. pic.twitter.com/jMmyl8z7Eq

— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) December 13, 2014

"As the President, I count on you. I hope that your unique role in the government will allow transforming the Soviet system of the Ministry of the Interior into a European system,” President Poroshenko told Zguladze after granting her citizenship.

"I hope that after the reformation, Ukrainian traffic police officers will stop taking bribes just as it was done in Georgia,” he added.

Earlier, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said after finalising formal procedures over citizenship, he would ask Ukraine's cabinet to appoint Zguladze as First Deputy Interior Minister next week.

Authorities in Tbilisi believed the appointment of former Georgian officials to high-ranking Ukraine posts would damage the friendly relations between the two countries.