KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who also used to serve as governor of Ukraine's Odessa Region, claimed on Tuesday that incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had allegedly informed the Georgian politician back in 2014 of intention to "exchange" Crimea for NATO and EU membership.
"I had a conversation with Poroshenko and he told me: 'You have almost got used to the idea that South Ossetia and Abkhazia will never become a part of Georgia again, and we should get used to the idea that Ukraine will never have Crimea again as well � but we will exchange it for membership in the European Union and NATO,'" Saakashvili said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon.
Meanwhile, Saakashvili added that Crimea's rejoining Russia might serve as a reason why Ukraine might be not allowed to join the two blocs since "a territorial conflict arises."
�Crimea rejoined Russia in March 2014, when 97 percent of those participating in a regional referendum voted for the reunification. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the issue of Crimea's territorial belonging is "historically closed" as Crimean residents decided to rejoin Russia in accordance with democratic procedures.
