Georgian citizens touted as advisors to new Ukrainian President

Georgia's former president Mikheil Saakashvili is earmarked to be one of a handful of Georgian advisors to the new Ukranian President.

Ukraine's new leader Petro Poroshenko, who claimed outright victory following Sunday's Presidential election, last night announced some Georgian citizens would be among his future advisors.

"Ukraine will have a friendly relationship with Georgia and I would like to reveal the news that some Georgian citizens will be among my advisors but let’s keep their names a secret,” Poroshenko said.

Local Georgian media reported among the Georgian advisors will be Saakashvili, diplomat and former Ambassador of Georgia in Ukraine Grigol Katamadze and businessman and former government official Kakha Bendukidze.

Ukraine's burly boxing hero and strident protest leader Vitali Klitschko, who claimed victory on Sunday as the Mayor of Kiev, confirmed to Georgian media that Saakashvili "offered help to Ukraine’s new government".

Over the years Georgia’s former Ambassador continued to foster deep ties with Ukraine. Katamadze and Ukraine's new President studied together at the same course at University. The Georgian diplomat was also actively involved in Poroshenko's election campaign.

"Georgia is a good example how to conduct reforms and defeat corruption in the country. Ukraine has to share Georgia’s experiences," Klitschko said.

"There is no need to reinvent the wheel when there are good examples of country’s development like Slovakia, Poland and Georgia,” Klitschko noted.

Exit polls suggest Poroshenko won more than 55.9 percent of votes in the first round. This was enough to avoid a second round of voting, and gave the pro-European billionaire a chance to resolve the current conflict that has created the greatest tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War.