Kyiv Pledges Non-Interference in Georgia’s Internal Affairs
The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine confirmed today “non-interference in Georgia’s internal affairs,” after summoning Georgia’s Chargé d’Affaires Sandro Topuria over ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s detention in Tbilisi yesterday.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it stressed the need for respecting the legal rights of Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, and requested the Ukrainian consul in Tbilisi to visit him for consular and legal assistance.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the Georgian diplomat on his part informed his Ukrainian colleagues about the circumstances of Saakashvili’s detention and criminal charges incriminated to him.
Prior to his return to Georgia ahead of the October 2 local elections, Saakashvili had served as the chairman of the Executive Reform Committee of Ukraine, since his appointment to the post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May 2020.
After the arrest, Saakashvili now faces six years of prison. He had left the country in November 2013 amid the end of his second presidential term, and was wanted by the Georgian Dream government on multiple charges.
He was sentenced in absentia in 2018 on two separate abuse of power charges – three years for pardoning the former Interior Ministry officials, convicted in the high-profile murder case of Sandro Girgvliani and six years for organizing an attack on opposition MP Valeri Gelashvili.
He is also charged with misappropriation of public funds and exceeding official authority in the 2007 anti-government protests case. Former President denies all the charges as politically motivated.
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