Ruling party Executive Secretary: Saakashvili’s 2021 arrival from Ukraine to Georgia a “special operation” to involve country in war
In his remarks over the matter, Mdinaradze alleged the “authors of the special operation” had ensured “even the President of Ukraine” had now made a statement “in favour of the executor of the operation”. Photo: Georgian Dream Press Office
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Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the 2021 arrival of former President Mikheil Saakashvili from Ukraine to Georgia had been a “special operation” to involve the country in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Mdinaradze was responding to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who on Tuesday called on Georgian authorities to allow a transfer of the imprisoned former President - now a citizen of Ukraine - to a Ukrainian-, European- or American-based clinic for further treatment.
In his remarks over the matter, Mdinaradze alleged the “authors of the special operation” had ensured “even the President of Ukraine” had now made a statement “in favour of the executor of the operation”.
Sending Saakashvili to Georgia was a special operation. Today, the authors of the special operation even secured a statement from the President of Ukraine in favour of the object of the special operation, its executor. This is a simple assessment”, the GD official said.
“The statement of a number of high-ranking Ukrainian officials that there are no people of war in the Georgian Government and that Mikheil Saakashvili would have [involved the country in the war] can be considered in agreement with this statement”, he alleged.
Yes, they have this expectation, and the planners of the special operation [have now] ensured that even the Ukrainian President has responded and called on Georgian authorities”, Mdinaradze noted.
The former President has been receiving treatment at the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi since May 12, after he was moved from the Gori Military Hospital - where he was transferred in late November 2021 from the hospital of the Gldani No.18 prison. The latter, in turn, served as his detention location after his move from the Rustavi No.12 prison, the initial detention venue, in early November last year.
Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections. He has been serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.