Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko on Wednesday rejected statements by Georgian Dream party Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze about Kiev's involvement in former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's transfer to Georgia.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2022) Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko on Wednesday rejected statements by Georgian Dream party Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze about Kiev's involvement in former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's transfer to Georgia.
On Tuesday, Kobakhidze said that Ukrainian authorities were involved in a special operation to send Saakashvili to Georgia, for which they are responsible and therefore demand his release. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Georgian authorities to show mercy to Saakashvili and transfer him to a Ukrainian, European or US clinic for treatment.
"The chairman of Georgia's ruling party said that Mikheil Saakashvili's arrival was a special operation by Ukraine to drag Tbilisi into the war. What kind of insinuations some Georgian politicians will spread to absolve themselves of responsibility for gross human rights violations in Georgia," Nikolenko said on media.
Saakashvili was the president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2013 and was barred from seeking a third term under the Georgian constitution. Shortly after the end of his term, Saakashvili left the country. He actively supported Ukraine's Euromaidan in 2014 and 2015 and was appointed the governor of Ukraine's Odessa region after receiving Ukrainian citizenship.
Saakashvili was put in jail on October 1 last year, shortly after returning to Georgia, where he was wanted on several charges, including abuse of power, stealing public money, and ordering a crackdown on a peaceful rally. He is serving a six-year sentence. Saakashvili's doctors and supporters say his health has deteriorated dramatically since he went on hunger strikes during his detention.
