Saakashvili To Assume Another Duty, Not Become Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister - Lawmaker

Saakashvili to Assume Another Duty, Not Become Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister - Lawmaker

Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president of Georgia and ex-governor of Ukraine's Odessa region, who had expected to become the Ukrainian deputy prime minister for reforms, will assume another office, and this issue has already been resolved with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leader of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, said on Thursday

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2020) Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president of Georgia and ex-governor of Ukraine's Odessa region, who had expected to become the Ukrainian deputy prime minister for reforms, will assume another office, and this issue has already been resolved with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leader of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, said on Thursday.

Earlier in April, Saakashvili confirmed that he had been offered the office of deputy prime minister for reforms by Zelenskyy. The position prescribes holding negotiations with international creditors and financial organizations. The Ukrainian parliament was set to vote on his appointment, but not many lawmakers were in favor of the ex-Georgian president's candidacy.

"Over the past few days, Saakashvili has been engaged in lengthy negotiations with the president, and they have found another format for work. This is a new position, I can't reveal it for you since this is the initiative of the president. Let it remain an intrigue," Arakhamia told reporters, as aired by 112 Ukraine broadcaster.

He refused to specify where exactly Saakashvili would work, noting that this could be announced later on Thursday.

In 2013, Saakashvili left Georgia, 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. On May 28, 2019, Zelenskyy reinstated Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship, prompting his return to the country the next day.