Saakashvili’s Ukrainian citizenship reinstated
By Levan Abramishvili
Wednesday, May 29
On May 28, Ukraine's newly-elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, restored the Ukrainian citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili. An ex-president of Georgia and a former governor of Odessa region was deprived of the citizenship in July 2017 by a former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
The decision was made public on the official website of Zelensky. The President removed Saakashvili's name from the Decree N196 of 26 July 2017 on “Termination of Citizenship of Several Persons”. Aside from Saakashvili, he granted the Ukrainian citizenship to several other people.
Few months back, Zelensky said that Saakashvili is a good diplomat and plays a role in protecting the democracy of Ukraine. “I think he’s a great diplomat and a consultant that any political candidate would dream of. Many think that he can have an important position in the Ukrainian government,” said the President of Ukraine.
Saakashvili announced his plans to fly to Kyiv, where he has “many supporters”, in a phone interview with Rustavi 2.
“[Zelensky] gave me back the Ukrainian citizenship, which was stripped from me unlawfully, like my expulsion from the country. I will fly to Kyiv tomorrow [May 29], where I have many supporters. I will go back to Kyiv, where I have studied, served in the army, where I have fought a lot, even have been imprisoned there. I’m going back to Kyiv, but, of course, my thoughts are with Georgia, with Ukraine,” said the former President of Georgia.
Saakashvili also said that he will assist the newly-elected President of Ukraine. “I will help the new President of Ukraine, whom I have known for a long time and I will help the Ukrainian people,” said Saakashvili.
He expressed hopes that soon he’ll also be able to return to Georgia. “Ivanishvili will remain in history only with the fact that he didn’t let me in the country for some time, but soon this will change too. I’m sure that the Georgian people will win. I’m sure that the Georgian people will return their country and will snatch it from the hands [of Ivanishvili], and he will lose just like his colleagues did in Ukraine,” said Saakashvili.
Answering the question of Russian news media RBC, whether he negotiated with the representatives of Zelensky about regaining his citizenship, Saakashvili replied that “It was his [Zelensky’s] decision.”
According to Saakashvili’s interview with RBC, he has no specific plans for the parliamentary elections, which will be held on July 21 in Ukraine. “I think that in the parliamentary elections the “Servant of the people” [Zelensky’s political party] will achieve the absolute majority. It is a new drive and a new opportunity for Ukraine,” he said. He did not specify the plans of the Ukrainian Movement of New Forces party, that he established in 2017, for the upcoming campaign.
The decision was met with different reactions from the Georgian politicians. The member of the United National Movement (UNM), Nika Melia, said that by giving back Saakashvili the citizenship “the justice was restored, like it will be in Georgia.” According to him, Ivanishvili will share the same fate as Poroshenko. “Four times richer Poroshenko was defeated in Ukraine, something that was unimaginable for him even last year. The fact is that the same will happen in Georgia,” said Melia.
The vice-chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia, and the member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Giorgi Volski, said that good relations with Zelensky is the priority for Georgia. “Ukraine is our partner country and the relations with Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration are far more important than assessing his decisions,” said Volski.
Giorgi Volski also said that the decision to reinstate Saakashvili’s Ukrainian citizenship has nothing to do with the Georgian one, because “no one has taken his Georgian citizenship away from him [Saakasvhili], he rejected it himself when he took the position that was offered to him [in Ukraine].”
An independent MP, Levan Koberidze, said that Zelensky will have to pay the appropriate “political price” for his decision. According to him, the decision will be criticized by the Ukrainian opposition too.
On what this decision entails for Georgia, Koberidze stated that Saakashvili’s place has long been determined by the Georgian people and the justice system. “This person has criminal liabilities and if he enters Georgia, appropriate measures will be taken within the legal framework,” said Koberidze.
Mikheil Saakashvili received Ukrainian citizenship in 2015, when he was appointed as the governor of the Odessa region. In July 2017, after Saakashvili created an opposition party called the Movement of New Forces, Poroshenko issued a decree that stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship. In 2018, Saakashvili was deported from Ukraine.
In Georgia, Saakashvili came into power after the Rose Revolution in 2003. His party, UNM, was removed from power by the Georgian Dream coalition, led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, in 2012 parliamentary elections. His term as president expired in 2013.
