Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who recently announced his plans to return home and serve his country, said on Thursday that he would not engage in confrontation with Russia
TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2020) Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who recently announced his plans to return home and serve his country, said on Thursday that he would not engage in confrontation with Russia.
"Now it is important to pull the country out of the swamp, and not face off anyone ... our task is to not engage in confrontation with Russia, but to solve our internal problems," Saakashvili said during a broadcast by tv Formula.
On Monday, Saakashvili welcomed the decision of the United National Movement to nominate him for the post of prime minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections and said he was ready to take the position for two years at most.
In late August, Saakashvili posted a video address on Facebook in which he thanked Ukraine for being his "second home" and said that it was time to return to his homeland. He mentioned that he was ready to solve past mistakes and serve his country. Georgian Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani has said that the ex-president would be detained at the border if he tried to return to the country.
Saakashvili served as the president of Georgia from 2004-2013. In 2013, he left his native country, where he is facing several criminal charges. In 2015, he was given Ukrainian citizenship and made the governor of the Odessa region by then-President Petro Poroshenko, only to be fired in 2016 and have his citizenship revoked in 2017.
In 2019, Ukraine reinstated Saakashvili's citizenship, prompting his return to the country. The former Georgian president was later appointed as the head of the executive committee at the Ukrainian National Reform Council.
