Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darsiasvili said on Thursday that Georgia does not plan to consult with Georgy Zakarasvili, the country’s ambassador sent to his country from Ukraine for consultations, on the case of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
He added, “The Georgian Foreign Ministry has no plans to consult with the ambassador. By the way, the ambassador has already left Ukraine and is on his way to Georgia.” – said the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a statement to the local Imedi TV station.
He also noted that the Georgian authorities agreed last year to appoint a new ambassador for Ukraine to Tbilisi.
“I think that if the Ukrainian leadership is interested in Mr. Saakashvili’s condition, that is, they are interested in his health, then they should not send our ambassador for consultations, but the procedures that have been started should be closed. They called us and asked to appoint a new (Ukrainian) ambassador, and we immediately agreed to it. The head of Georgian diplomacy stressed that “They have to make the decision and the (Ukraine’s) ambassador has to come to this country.” In addition, he stressed that any Ukrainian diplomat working in Georgia can visit the imprisoned Saakashvili.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
Contact the Georgian ambassador and ask him on the list to return to his country for consultation within 48 hours.
At the same time, Zelensky has repeatedly called on the Georgian authorities to extradite Saakashvili, who also has Ukrainian citizenship, for medical treatment. According to the Ukrainian president, Saakashvili’s partners must defend Kiev. He believed that the life of the ex-president of Georgia was in danger.
On Monday, Saakashvili participated via video link in the session of the Criminal Court of Tbilisi, where the issue of the violent dispersal of the 2007 protests was discussed.
Video recordings showed that the 55-year-old had lost a lot of weight and appeared frail. According to his doctors, he became seriously ill in prison and suffers from heavy metal poisoning, among other things. However, the Georgian authorities say he is receiving adequate medical care.
After his second term ended, Saakashvili left abroad in 2013 after being accused of abuse of power in his country. Among other things, he also lived in Ukraine, received Ukrainian citizenship in 2015, and was appointed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as head of the Office of State Administration in the Odessa province.
He returned to Georgia in October 2021, before the municipal elections, where he was arrested.
Four criminal cases were initiated against Sacasvili during his absence in his country, two of which resulted in convictions.
Ukraine invited the Georgian ambassador to return to his country
The ambassador was instructed to return to his country within 48 hours to consult on the issue of the former Georgian president.
Featured photo: Georgian Foreign Minister Ilya Darciasvili. (Source: Getty Images)
