According to the chairman of Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, holding consultations on the matter of the imprisoned third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, which Ukraine requested from the Georgian ambassador, is completely out of question.
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“As for how relations between us can continue, we are ready to maintain a one-sided friendship in any case for a simple reason: one - we must respect the age-old friendship between the peoples of Georgia and Ukraine, and second - this country, Ukraine, is currently in a state of war. This is the only reason why we should remain in unilateral friendship, even with the Ukrainian authorities, despite the offensive steps that have been taken. Of course, no consultations can be held regarding Saakashvili. Consultations regarding Saakashvili are absolutely excluded,” Kobakhidze told journalists today.
The chairman of the ruling party noted that Ukraine's next steps, considering the steps already taken, are of no interest to them.
On July 3, after the appearance of Mikheil Saakashvili at the Tbilisi City Court session, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that Russia is killing a Ukrainian citizen at the hands of the Georgian authorities. He called on official Tbilisi to ‘’stop this harassment and agree to Saakashvili's return to Ukraine.’’
On July 4, on the instructions of Zelensky, the Ambassador of Georgia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Giorgi Zakarashvili, was summoned and a strong protest was expressed due to the “significant deterioration” of Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition. The Georgian diplomat was told that “such treatment towards Mikheil Saakashvili is absolutely unacceptable” and “Georgian authorities must stop abusing the citizen of Ukraine”.
“In this regard, it was proposed Ambassador of Georgia to Ukraine George Zakarashvili return to Tbilisi for consultations to find ways of solving the situation. The Ukrainian side emphasized its readiness to discuss urgently the issue of transferring Mikheil Saakashvili to Ukraine for treatment and medical care,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
George Zakarashvili was given a 48-hours to leave Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia assessed the decision of the Ukrainian side as an extreme form of deterioration of diplomatic relations. According to the Ministry, the European Court of Human Rights “has put an end to the speculations about the health condition of convict Mikheil Saakashvili.” Therefore, the decision of official Kyiv does not make sense for the Georgian side.
