Justice Minister: ex-Pres. Saakashvili not following doctors’ recommendations, attempting to “cast shadow” on Georgia-Ukraine relations
In his comments to the local media, Bregadze noted it was “incomprehensible” how Georgian-Ukrainian relations could be damaged, when “Georgia has been providing maximum support to Ukraine”, including humanitarian and political support, on the local and international levels, with sponsoring “about 300 resolutions” on the country. Photo via Justice Ministry
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Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Thursday said the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was not following doctors’ recommendations and instead was attempting to harm the interests of Georgia and “cast a shadow” on the relations between Georgia and Ukraine.
In his comments to the local media, Bregadze noted it was “incomprehensible” how Georgian-Ukrainian relations could be damaged, when “Georgia has been providing maximum support to Ukraine”, including humanitarian and political support, on the local and international levels, with sponsoring “about 300 resolutions” on the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called on the Georgian authorities to hand over Saakashvili to Ukraine for the “necessary treatment and care” and instructed the Ukrainian foreign office to summon the Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine, to express their “strong protest” and ask him to leave Ukraine within 48 hours to hold consultations in Tbilisi.
As ordered by the Ukrainian President, the Georgian Ambassador Giorgi Zakarashvili left the country, the Georgian foreign office confirmed to the local media earlier today.
In its turn, the Georgian foreign office on Tuesday expressed its “deep concern” over the decision of the Ukrainian authorities and noted the move represented an “extreme form of escalation of diplomatic relations”, and said it was “unfortunate that official Kyiv is taking this step against the friendly state and people”.
Saakashvili, who has Ukrainian citizenship and held a public post in the country, was arrested on return to Georgia in October 2021 and has been undergoing treatment at the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi since May 2022. He is serving a six-year term for abuse of power in a case he was convicted on and has three other cases against him pending.