Georgian Ambassador Returns to Kyiv After Year-Long Hiatus

The Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine, Teimuraz Sharashenidze, returned to Kyiv on April 21, almost a year after being recalled by the Georgian authorities over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to appoint former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as the chair of Ukraine’s Executive Reform Committee.

According to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sharashenidze already met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and his Deputy Vasyl Bodnar. The Ukrainian side welcomed Sharashenidze’s return and positively assessed the move, “especially amid military escalation along Ukrainian borders and in the temporarily occupied territories.”

The Georgian Ambassador reiterated Tbilisi’s solidarity and support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, the Georgian MFA reported, while both sides expressed readiness to “actively collaborate in the direction of further deepening strategic partnership between Georgia and Ukraine.”

Deputy FM Vasyl Bodnar spoke about “the growing aggravation of the security situation” in Eastern Ukraine, and in the Azov-Black Sea region, which he said, “is associated with provocative and destabilizing actions by Russia,” the Ukrainian MFA reported. The Deputy FM also drew attention to Moscow’s “reluctance to adhere to the ceasefire” and withdraw its troops.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that President Zurabishvili and President Zelenskyy agreed over Ambassador Sharashenidze’s return during their phone conversation of April 15. Earlier on April 9, President Zurabishvili called for urgently returning the Georgian Ambassador to Kyiv in a display of solidarity.

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