Georgian parliament speaker: Saakashvili cannot be cause of discord between Georgia, Ukraine
Kuchava is paying an official visit to Ukraine and participating in a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust at Babin Yar in Ukraine. Photo: Parliament of Georgia.
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava has stated that ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili cannot be a cause of discord between Georgia and Ukraine and called the two countries ‘brotherly nations and strategic partners.’
We [Georgia and Ukraine] have many plans in terms of cooperation and [we have] a common enemy,” Kuchava said.
He noted Georgia and Ukraine will talk about the recently detained Saakashvili, however, Kuchava underscored that ‘there will be no discussion of extradition’ in this regard.
We know very well that we are talking about a convict who has directly violated the law via illegally crossing the borders of both countries, so there can be no talk of political imprisonment or anything like that,” Kuchava stated.
Kuchava also said that he decides how many people will visit Saakashvili in prison due to ‘the safety norms and the rules of the penitentiary institution’ and noted that there are no restrictions in this regard.
Kuchava is paying an official visit to Ukraine and participating in a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust at Babin Yar in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated several days ago that he will work to bring Ukrainian citizen and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili back to Ukraine.
However, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani denied the possibility of Saakashvili’s extradition, noting that before Saakashvili became a Ukrainian citizen ‘he was the president and a citizen of Georgia and has been charged in accordance with Georgian legislation.’
Saakashvili who announced his return to the country on October 1 via Facebook was arrested later that day in Tbilisi and transferred to the penitentiary institution in Rustavi.
Mikheil Saakashvili has been convicted of the abuse of authority in two cases and is serving a six-year prison term.
Georgian former President Mikheil Saakashvili allegedly entered Georgia’s Black Sea port city of Poti via Ukrainian private company UkrFerry’s boat Vilnius ‘hidden in a truck,’ the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s (GPB) weekly analytical program New Week reports. The GPB says Saakashvili set foot in Georgia on September 29 at nine p.m. via boat which departed from the trading port of Chernomorsk in the Odessa region.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava has left for Ukraine on an official visit today. As part of his official visit to Ukraine, Kakha Kuchava will take part in the ceremony in Babin Yar, Kyiv, to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Ukraine.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has stated earlier today that former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ‘possibly’ violated the Ukrainian legislature by crossing its border illegally. Zalkaliani noted that before Saakashvili became a Ukrainian citizen ‘he was the president and a citizen of Georgia and has been charged in accordance with Georgian legislation.’
Former Director of the Political Department of Georgian Foreign Ministry Giorgi Zakarashvili has been appointed as Georgia’s new Ambassador of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced at a briefing in Truskavets, Ukraine today that he will work to bring Ukrainian citizen and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, currently detained in Georgia, back to Ukraine using "various means".
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava says Georgia and Ukraine are destined for ‘a resolute partnership’ due to their similar history, challenges and interests. Kakha Kuchava who is on an official visit to Ukraine has met Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv.
The European People’s Party (EPP), which is the largest group in the European Parliament, calls on the Georgian government ‘to improve the political environment’ as well as to guarantee free and fair elections in the second round of the municipal elections and ‘to stop the persecution of political opponents’.